WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #68 by Nick Spencer, Ed Brisson, Marcelo Ferreira, Carlos Gomez, Ze Carlos, Wayne Faucher, Morry Hollowell, Andrew Crossley, Erick Arciniega & VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Spider-Man has seen several people in his life return from the dead. Most of the time, the return is only a ruse. The Jackal cloned Gwen Stacy and Chameleon created LMDs of Peter Parker’s parents. Now, Ned Leeds has returned from the dead, and Peter Parker is not sure what to believe.
The mystery started in the last issue when Peter went to tell Betty Brant that the man she recently met wasn't the real Ned Leeds. This was a tough trip for Peter since Betty is pregnant and believes that Ned is the father. However, when Peter got there, Betty invited her in and Ned was standing there alive and well. Ned said it was really him and that he had some explaining to do.
Ned Leeds told Peter that his death was not what it seemed. Ned died in 1987’s Spider-Man Versus Wolverine #1 by Christopher Priest, Mark Bright, Al Williamson, Petra Scotese and Bill Oakley. Peter and Ned headed to Berlin because Ned was investigating a villain known as The Foreigner. While they were there, the Foreigner sent his goons to Peter and Ned’s room, and they murdered Ned before Peter could show up and do anything about it. Peter tried to get justice for Ned by teaming with Wolverine, but he ended up coming home and breaking the news to his friends.
Ned explained that he died at that moment, but he didn’t stay dead. He reminded everyone that he thought he was the Hobgoblin, but it turned out Roderick Kingsley brainwashed him to believe that. Ned admitted he knew Kingsley was planning his execution, so he put his own plan into effect. After arriving in Berlin, Ned went to one of Norman Osborn’s European homes and found a stash of goblin formula there. He took all the serum he could. After Foreigner’s men killed him, he said that the serum brought him back from the dead, and he dug his way out of his grave.
Norman Osborn developed the goblin formula based on the ideas that previously helped create the Super Soldier Serum. It gave him enhanced mental and physical functions, but also caused him to lose his sanity while using it. This happened again later with Harry Osborn and severely changed Ned Leeds when he operated as Hobgoblin, using the formula. Ned mentioned he returned from the dead the same way Norman Osborn did. This makes sense based on how much of the goblin formula he claimed he took before his murder.
1996’s Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1, by Glenn Greenberg, Kyle Hotz, Jason Moore, Al Milgrom, Richard Starkings/Comicraft and Mark Bernardo, showed the goblin formula’s regenerative powers. That issue depicted Green Goblin’s death when his own glider impaled him. He woke up in the morgue and admitted that the goblin formula gave him “an incredible healing factor” and his body began healing the moment he died. This seems to be what Ned Leeds said happened to him in Berlin.
There are still mysteries to uncover. Ned died years ago, and a clone returned for a short time in his place. Ned claims there is a good reason he remained hidden. Someone found him and helped him when he rose from the grave, offering him help if he kept his return a secret. Betty admitted the story she is working on brought her back to Ned, seeking the same ends from different angles. It turned out Betty’s secret source was Ned, and that is when they reconnected. The case involved the Foreigner and a friend of Peter’s from Empire State University named Jamie. Foreigner ordered Ned’s death and now he and Ned are both back for "The Chameleon Conspiracy," which could once again shake up everything Peter Parker knows about his life.