Let me start this thread by stating that I was a HUGE Hobgoblin fan when I was younger and first got into Spider-Man. I would say that I still am, although this has been lessened due to the fact that Norman Osborn returned during the end of the Clone Saga.

But I've been rereading the original Hobgoblin arc from Roger Stern's run. I can't help but wonder if perhaps he was overrated to begin with. Now obviously we have the benefit of hindsight knowing the controversy behind the reveal of the Hobgoblin's identity. But even if Stern had stayed on and revealed that Hobgoblin was Roderick Kingsley all along as he intended, I feel like I would have been completely letdown by that, almost as much as I was when it was revealed Ned Leeds was Hobgoblin after he was already dead. I think Tom DeFalco's choice of Richard Fisk would have been the most interesting, especially since Stern used Kingpin during the original Hobgoblin arc and Kingpin was clearly concerned that Hobgoblin could usurp his power. But I guess we'll never know how that would have played out. I'm not even going to talk about the whole "twin brother" angle especially given the fact that Daniel was not Roderick's twin.

I also have an issue with Hobgoblin's motivations, especially given the fact that Kingsley was already well-off and didn't need to steal or blackmail people to maintain his living. The same could be said about Osborn, but Osborn was crazy. With Hobgoblin, his motivations seemingly were just to wreak havoc and defeat Spider-Man for...fun? This kind of flimsy motivation for a villain may have worked in the early days, but by the 1980's there should have been a little more substance behind the motives.

There's also the fact that several writers after Stern H-A-T-E-D the Hobgoblin and refused to use him. John Semper, who wrote and produced the Animated Series, greatly disliked the character and hated the fact that he had to introduce him first before the Green Goblin.

Don't get me wrong. I consider Stern's run with Spider-Man to be quintessential. But I'm definitely questioning how good of a villain the Hobgoblin was and is.