I'm really enjoying the current story-line, and find there's an unaccustomed spring in my step as I head to the comic shop each fortnight. Web of Carnage was great fun, as was Blood Brothers. The Hobgoblin is a killer - although Cell-12 was pretty lame. The Spider-Verse does NOT need another para-military cybernetically-enhanced strike team. In fact it's doubtful whether they really needed the first twenty.
Still, that doesn't matter - as the new-look Hobgoblin makes up for any inadequacies of rest of the hired help. Scorpion, Vulture, and Doctor Octopus have all been updated for the modern world, so I guess there was no doubt that The Hobgoblin would soon undergo a similar treatment. Like it says - This ain't your daddy's Hob-Goblin. It's hard to imagine what they would have made of this new Hobgoblin 20 years ago!
Speaking of Hobgoblins, my good friend Jeanne Burch has been working pretty hard to put together the info and history for both of the original hobgoblins - Ned Leeds and Jason Macendale. There's lots of detailed history, and a ton of cover scans. A must-see for any true Hobgoblin Fan.