Wicked fan art depicts Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 cast member Jacob Batalon, who plays Peter Parker's best friend Ned Leeds, as the comic book villain Hobgoblin. Batalon first appeared as geeky Ned in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, and reprised his role in the sequel and the two final Avengers films. Batalon's performance is a favorite among fans, offering goofy one-liners and teenage awkwardness that defines the series' take on Spider-Man as a well-meaning kid caught up in a world of heroes much more mature than he is. Apparently in preparation for his return in the third film, Batalon lost a lot of weight, and fans have a hunch as to why.
In the Spider-Man comics, Hobgoblin serves as a successor to the Green Goblin using a modified version of Norman Osborn's serum to become a superpowered, Halloween-themed baddie. Hobgoblin flies around on a goblin glider and flings jack-o'-lantern bombs and bat blades at Peter Parker. For a brief period, Ned Leeds' comic counterpart is brainwashed and made to don the Hobgoblin disguise in order to hide the villain's true identity. Batalon has made it clear that he would love to try his hand at playing the bad guy, and his dramatic weight loss may indicate that he's getting the chance.
Illustrator Arkin Tyagi, who goes by @_artkin_ on Instagram, shared a drawing of Batalon in the Hobgoblin's classic outfit. Tyagi is evidently a comic book fanatic with an impressive catalog of vibrant drawings of stars as heroes and villains alike, many of them delightfully speculative. Check out the Hobgoblin piece below:
The drawing of Batalon does not disappoint, turning the lovable Ned into a believable villain. With a sinister, toothy grin, and Hobgoblin's signature orange hood, Ned looks ready to mistakenly try to kill his best friend. The glazed over red eyes indicate that Ned has been brainwashed, which is for the best, as Batalon's Ned would never turn against Peter.
Whether Batalon gets to fulfill his dream or not, the script for Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 blew the young actor away. The film is bringing back a collection of rogues from across the Spider-Man cinematic multiverse, including Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus, Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin, Thomas Haden Church's Sandman from the Tobey Maguire continuity and Jamie Foxx's Electro from the Andrew Garfield films, not to mention the two Spideys. Though both of the previous film series were criticized for including too many villains at one time, the so-far-lauded Tom Holland films may just break the mold. Batalon's Hobgoblin could be the secret ingredient that differentiates Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 from its predecessors.
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