Recap / Spider Man The Animated Series S 01 E 11 The Hobgoblin Part 1

Norman Osborn hires a manic calling himself, the Hobgoblin, to take out the Kingpin. But when Peter saves the Kingpin from being assassinated, Norman fires the Hobgoblin, who decides to get revenge by using the Kingpin and Osborn's rivalry to his advantage.

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This episode provides examples of:

• Adaptational Early Appearance: Whereas the Hobgoblin in the comics was a Big Bad Wannabe imitator of the earlier introduced Green Goblin, in this TV series, Hobgoblin was introduced before the longtime Spider-Man archenemy Norman Osborn took up the identity of the Green Goblin.
• Blackmail: Norman keeps the Hobgoblin at bay by having measures in place to reveal his true identity if any foul play occurs. Hobgoblin one ups him by making a deal with Kingpin and kidnapping Harry.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Oh, Hobgoblin...
• The Dog Bites Back: Norman fires Hobgoblin for his failure. After finding Kingpin, Hobgoblin decides to put Norman down as a reference.
• Diving Save: Peter saves Kingpin from the Hobgoblin's assassination attempt by tackling him out of the way as the Hobgoblin shoots at him.
• Early Instalment Weirdness: The opening gives us a brief glimpse of an unmasked Hobgoblin (but only the back of his head) and he’s depicted as a bald-headed black guy, which contradicts his eventual unmasking in “Goblin War”.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Alistair Smythe shows disdain for the Hobgoblin due to being too ambitious. Therefore, when he caught him on betraying Kingpin for Osborn, he smirked at the sight of it.
• Evil Is Petty: Hobgoblin relishes the chance to get back at Peter for interfering with the assassination attempt.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Norman remarks that Hobgoblin was just a punk in a mask before gaining the glider and weapons.
• Heroic Bystander: Peter is viewed as this in the eyes of the public for how he saved Wilson Fisk from an assassination attempt by the Hobgoblin. Of course in actuality he isn't this due to being Spider-Man, which we know due to Dramatic Irony.
• Irony: A new school building for criminology is financed by and named after the civilian identity of the Kingpin of all people.
• It's Personal: With May in the hospital after the Hobgoblin's attack, Spider-Man is determined to find him.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Kingpin admits Hobgoblin reminds him of himself as a young man. He really should've seen the treachery coming then, shouldn't he?
• Papa Wolf: Norman intends to shoot Hobgoblin on sight for kidnapping Harry. He's only talked out of it by the possibility of Hobgoblin taking on the Kingpin for him.
• Properly Paranoid: Smythe doesn't want to take any chances, calling him devious, a liar, and too ambitious.
• Sadistic Choice: Kingpin offers Osborn one: either hand over all of his inventions to him or let his son, Harry, die.
• Shrouded in Myth: Hobgoblin admits he thought the idea of a Kingpin controlling crime from a single command center was just a legend told by and to the gullible. He finds it's all true and even greater than he would've dared hope.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Smythe is confused why Kingpin keeps attending functions like the groundbreaking ceremony. Kingpin tells him that it's important to keep up appearances as a benevolent figure in the community so that no one finds out the truth.

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