Ned Leeds Watch Order: Every MCU Appearance
The 6 titles below run in story order, starting with Spider-Man: Homecoming and, for now, ending with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Ned Leeds is the guy in the chair through Peter Parker’s MCU trilogy.
Set aside about 14h 45m for the full list, which came out from 2017 to 2026.
Who is Ned Leeds?
Ned Leeds started out as newsprint filler. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko slipped him into The Amazing Spider-Man #18 (November 1964) as an unnamed face, then named him an issue later in #19 (December 1964). For years he was a Daily Bugle reporter and Peter Parker's rival for Betty Brant, whom he eventually married. He was killed off in Spider-Man vs. Wolverine (February 1987), and The Amazing Spider-Man #289 revealed him as the Hobgoblin. The 1997 story Hobgoblin Lives walked that back, recasting him as a brainwashed stand-in for Roderick Kingsley.
The MCU version is warmer and far less doomed. Jacob Batalon plays Ned as Peter's best friend at Midtown School and a fellow Academic Decathlon kid, introduced in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). He works out Peter's secret early and appoints himself the guy in the chair, running comms while Peter hunts the Vulture. In Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) he dates Betty Brant across the Europe trip before an amicable breakup. He also turns up in cameo form in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) is the biggest test yet of his friendship with Peter. He is back in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, released July 31, 2026 and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, now in college.
Spoiler Spoilers for Ned Leeds’s story: tap to reveal
- No Way Home ends with Doctor Strange's spell making the world forget Peter Parker entirely, so Ned loses the friendship and the secret along with it. Weeks later he and MJ are both accepted to MIT.
- In Brand New Day, Ned is an MIT student who has built a Spidey Tracker app to find and thank the Spider-Man who once saved his class.
Ned Leeds in story order
- 1
StreamDisney+
- 2
StreamDisney+
- 3
StreamDisney+
- 4
StreamDisney+
- 5
StreamDisney+, Starz
- 6
Rent or buyAmazon, Apple TV
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Ned Leeds FAQ
What happens to Ned at the end of No Way Home?
It's tied to the film's ending, so the answer is in the spoiler box on this page.
Does Ned Leeds come back after No Way Home?
Yes. Jacob Batalon returns as Ned in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, released July 31, 2026.
Is MCU Ned going to become the Hobgoblin?
Nothing in the films has set that up. In the comics, Ned was revealed as the Hobgoblin in The Amazing Spider-Man #289, but 1997's Hobgoblin Lives retconned him into a brainwashed stand-in for the real Hobgoblin, Roderick Kingsley.
What order should I watch Ned Leeds in?
Go top to bottom. For Ned Leeds, story order and release order are the same, so there’s nothing to rearrange. Start with Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and work forward.
How many titles feature Ned Leeds?
6 so far, released from 2017 to 2026, covering Phases 3 to 6 of the MCU. That’s about 14h 45m of viewing.
How long does it take to watch every Ned Leeds appearance?
About 14h 45m for all 6 released titles. At two hours an evening, that’s roughly 8 sittings.
Do I need to watch the whole MCU to follow Ned Leeds?
No. These 6 titles tell the character’s own story, and the 2 team-up films on the list cover where it meets the wider MCU. Of these, 3 are graded Essential, so start with those if you’re short on time.