As we head down to the final days of Moon Knight Week we get to look at one of my favorite Moon Knight villains... Hobgoblin. Technically Hobgoblin is a Spider-man villain, but he had a memorable run with Moon Knight in the 90's as Hobgoblin infected Moon Knight with a virus. During one of many Goblin wars, or better yet, guys with hood wars, as Moon Knight, Hobgoblin, Demogoblin and Doctor Doom were all feuding around this time.

Technically this figure is of Roderick Kingsley, the first Hobgoblin. Kingsley was a fashion designer who ended up taking the Green Goblin formula and becoming his own goblin character. Hobgoblin is actually stronger and superior to Green Goblin in almost every way. Largely because he's been exposed to the Goblin formula longer and he designs his own suits that are better.



Of course, Kingsley never really had run ins with Moon Knight, it was the second Hobgoblin, Jason Macendale who had the feud with Marc Spector. Macendale took out the original Hobgoblin and then took up the mantle, eventually getting the evil N'astirh to grant him the power to become a demon in exchange for his soul. Hobgoblin was then probably at his most powerful, but eventually the demon separated itself from Hobgoblin and become it's own separate entity known as Demogoblin. Keeping up?

Kingsley then returned, killed Macendale and retook the mantle of Hobgoblin. If you're interested, Jason Macendale the second Hobgoblin was also originally Jack O'Lantern, a guy who was very similar to Hobgoblin and Green Goblin. Since all the Goblins basically looked the same this could be any of the Hobgoblins. Although Macendale's demon form was slightly different, it's not big enough of a change that you couldn't pretend this was the same one. Or buy four different ones and pretend you have all the goblins!

Packaging:
I like the Marvel Universe packaging and I'm a big fan of Frank Cho's work in most of these, but his artwork of Hobgoblin just looks off. I'm not sure what it is, but where I usually rave, it just doesn't scream Hobgoblin to me. So I'm less pleased than normal.



Making matters worse, Hobgoblin's cape is shoved through his package much like others before him but it's very thick and hard to get out. Compounding the fact is that Hobgoblin's hands are shoved through the plastic shell as well. Making me very afraid I was going to rip his hands off trying to get him out of the package. Not sure what happened here Hasbro, but this was a bit of a disaster.



I like the Marvel Universe packages but this one just didn't work for me.

Articulation:
Unfortunately this guy loses a bit in the articulation department too. He has the basic MU articulation level but he really needs a thigh swivel. His legs are slightly bowed, I assume to fit on his glider, but that makes it hard for him to stand. If he had thigh swivels he could move better, but it just doesn't work here. I found myself struggling to get him to stand up straight.



On the plus side he can be posed in lots of great positions on the glider and looks cool throwing his pumpkin bombs. He has a ball jointed neck but the movement is limited, ball shoulders, shoulder swivel, jointed elbows and swivel wrist. Moving down he has the torso joint, GI Joe style T-bar hips, double knees and rocker ankles.



Sculpt:
If you own the Green Goblin figure then you'll recognize this body. It's a complete reuse of the body. That's not a bad thing since both Hobgoblin and Green Goblin are almost identical except for their colors. Some have complained that his face looks a little off, but that looks right to me. He's supposed to have a bit of a creepy Halloween mask element to it and it looks right to me. His hood seems just a tad long, but it works.



The rest of the sculpt is filled with cool little nuances like a patched rip in the front of the chest and ripped edges on the boots and gloves. He' sculpted to hold his pumpkin bomb with a little hold that plugs in and works really well. He includes his man purse that has a nice sculpt to it as well.

Paint wise he's quite solid. The orange he's cast in is just about perfect and they avoided any unnecessary washes. The blue on his costume does have a lighter wash on it and it's probably be better off without it, but I should note that it appears brighter in these pictures than it is in person because of the flash.



Accessories:
Hobgoblin doesn't come with much, but what he does come with is essential. First is a small pumpkin bomb that has a decent sculpt. Again this is a reuse of the Green Goblin bomb as it should be. Setting it apart is a green and yellow paint job with a bit of silver mixed in. It helps make it stand out from his hands which I assume was the intention although it has caused some people to refer to it as a "onion bomb".



The other accessory is the most important, his Goblin glider. Good news as this is the best glider to ever be produced. Toy Biz had some really crappy gliders in the Marvel Legends line and the old gliders in the original Toy Biz lines always seemed to have a gimmick. This one is painted silver with a nice black wash on it. Very well done and his feet fit right in it without having to get "fastened" in via the shoes like the Marvel Legends versions.



He also has the typical paper accessories. This little letter inside is a internal memo about S.H.I.E.L.D. discussing hiring Hobgoblin to make their suits. It's a neat little letter and although it's not the best one I've read, it's creative and fun.



Additional Notes:
Hobgoblin is one of "my" characters. He came around in the 1980's and I have a big attachment to him. He really feels like a character I can attach too. It's probably why he's one of my favorite villains in the Marvel universe. Some people either love Hobby or hate him and I think that comes as a result of what era you grew up in.

Value:
These guys continue to be a bit pricey at $8, but that price is starting to look better with rumors of DCUC going up to $15. Hobby technically comes with a vehicle (Although he'd be an epic fail without it) thus giving us our first real vehicle of the Marvel Universe line (Actually Green Goblin did it first, but you get the idea) which adds to the value.

Score Recap:
Packaging - 6
Sculpting - 8
Articulation - 7
Accessories - Pumpkin Bomb, Goblin Glider, Paper Accessories
Value - 8
Overall - 7 out of 10

I really like Hobgoblin and I really like this figure, but he has a few errors that keep him from being the definitive version. The thigh swivel is something I rarely feel like I need, but it's needed here. The other issues are mostly minor ones with the package, but it still makes this guy not quite live up to his full potential. Still it's always a plus to add to the Moon Knight and Spider-Man 3 3/4 rogues gallery.


HOB GOBBLE!