Ned Leeds

"Hey, can I be your guy in the chair?" "What?" "You know how there's a guy, with the headset, telling the other guy where to go? Like if you were stuck in a burning building, I could tell you where to go, 'cause there'd be screens all around me, I can shoot around things, I can be your guy in the chair!"

- Ned Leeds and Peter Parker

Edward "Ned" Leeds is a student at Midtown School of Science and Technology. Upon discovering his best friend Peter Parker was Spider-Man, Leeds then focused on assisting his friend's heroic adventures as they attempted to find and defeat Vulture before he could sell high-tech hybrid weapons to the criminal underworld, while also hoping to use the Spider-Man to improve their own social standing at their school.

Friendship with Peter Parker
"Join me and together, we'll build my new LEGO Death Star." "What!"

- Ned Leeds and Peter Parker

Ned Leeds is a student at Midtown School of Science and Technology, and Peter Parker's best friend. He was also a member of the Academic Decathlon Team. At school, Leeds told Parker that he had got the Lego Death Star, and asked Parker if he wanted to help build it. Parker ended up distracted by Liz Toomes passing by, however, and unwittingly accepted.

Spider-Man Discovery
"You're the Spider-Man... from YouTube!" "No! No, I'm not! This is just a costume!" "You were on the ceiling!"

- Ned Leeds and Peter Parker

Shortly after, Leeds went to Parker's apartment. While Parker was not in due to the “Stark Internship”, his Aunt May allowed Leeds to wait in his room. Leeds then saw Peter Parker enter through the window, crawling on the ceiling while wearing his Spider-Man Suit. He surprised Parker, who had to admit that he was Spider-Man, but got Leeds to keep it a secret. While Parker tried to resume his daily life, Leeds asked him questions of when he was aware of his superpowers. On the way to school, Leeds listened to Parker on how he gained his powers from being bitten by the spider and that it was now dead. On route, they came across the aftermath of the Robbery at Queens Community Bank, as Parker noted the arrival of Damage Control and Anne Marie Hoag before they continued towards school. While they sat in their classes, including science and one lecture on the origins of the Sokovia Accords, Leeds bombarded Parker with questions regarding his abilities as Spider-Man, such as how he gained his powers as well as other trivial matters which soon began to ignore Parker. As he continued, Leeds further questioned Parker, who ignored most of the questions as Leeds asked if he laid eggs, how far he could fire his Web-Shooters, and if he could summon an army of spiders. As they prepared for Coach Wilson's gym class, they were shown a video of Captain America's Fitness Challenge, Leeds continued to questioned Parker whether he had met other heroes like Captain America. Unexpectedly anticipating his question's answer, Leeds listened to Parker that he had once managed to successfully steal Captain America's Shield during the Clash of the Avengers, much to his complete amazement. When they were continuing their training in the school's gym, doing Captain America's Fitness challenge, Leeds continued to questioned if the Avengers had to pay taxes and what Hulk actually smelled like and if Steve Rogers was cool or like a mean grandpa, until Parker told him to shut up. Leeds would then asked Parker if he could be the guy in the chair, explaining that he could be giving him assistance during missions, much to Parker's considerable annoyance. After Parker begrudgingly tells him to not assist him, Leeds then overheard Liz Toomes talking with her friends, including Betty Brant and Charles Murphy, and Toomes confessed to harboring a crush on Spider-Man while discussing the Avengers. Knowing this information, Leeds blurted out in front of Toomes that Parker knew Spider-Man. When they both got invited to her party, Leeds convinced Parker to make an appearance as Spider-Man to increase their social standing.

Liz' Party
"Peter, where are you? The hat's not working, this not cool."

- Ned Leeds

Later that same evening, May drove the pair onto the Toomes Residence, noting her own love for house parties. While outside the house, May complimented Leeds on his hat while Peter Parker became nervous and suggested going home, only for May to tease him by his own body's changes until Leeds told Parker to finally enter the party, much to his great delight. Leeds asked Parker if he was wearing the Spider-Man Suit beneath his clothing, to which he noticed. Entering the house, they saw that Flash Thompson was acting as the DJ for the party while Michelle Jones teased them for coming to the party while denying that she was also attending the party. They were soon greeted by Liz Toomes, who told them hang around the party. Setting up his plan, Leeds insisted that Parker needed to dress up as Spider-Man to impress everybody there, but Parker refused and adamant to be himself, despite insisting that nobody wants that. After another taunt from Thompson, who mocked Parker for failing to arrive with Spider-Man, Leeds was left waiting at the party so that Parker can excused himself and donned his costume outside on the Toomes Residence's roof in private, however when Parker noticed an explosion and had to bail to investigate that turned out to be an arms deal. Leeds then called Parker multiple times, realizing that he ditched. Once Parker answered, Leeds advised him not to return to the party since Thompson had continued to make a mockery out of him.

Assisting Spider-Man
"Evil lair?" "Dude, a gang with alien guns run by a guy with wings? Yeah, they have a lair." "Badass."

- Ned Leeds and Peter Parker

Having broken up the arms deal, Peter Parker had also discovered the Chitauri Energy Core. After telling him that he ditched, Leeds noticed that Parker was investigating the energy core and asked him where he found it. He was told by Parker that he encountered it by seeing it left behind in the wake of the recent chase all across the streets with Jackson Brice. While Leeds expressed his delight at merely being a part of this situation, Parker used a hammer to break the core, as Barry Hapgood advised his students to keep their fingers clear of the blades, while Leeds and Parker agreed on what to do next before doing their own tradition handshake. Once they had spent some time examining the Chitauri power core, Leeds and Parker had encountered Herman Schultz and Randy Vale who had both arrived and searched for the core through Midtown School of Science and Technology. While Parker hides, Leeds slowly moved towards him and was told that Schultz had attempted to kill him the night before alongside Jackson Brice. Although he insisted that they run and hide, Leeds was ignored by Parker who decided to get a lead on the Vulture, As Parker followed Schultz and Vale, as they searched through the school, Leeds was noticed by Tiny McKeever on what he was doing, to which he told that it was nothing. Returning to the Parker Residence together, Leeds helped Parker on tracking Schultz and his gang's current movements as they made their way outside of New York City. Eventually, while Leeds was trying on the Spider-Man Mask, they learned that Schultz and Vale had finally stopped in Maryland. While they discussed with Schultz and his gang had an evil lair, they discussed how to get to Maryland, realizing that the Decathlon was taking place in Washington, D.C..

Washington D.C. Trip
"Hey, how you doing? Don't worry about it. I got you." "Yes! Yes!" "Hey, Big Guy! Quit movin' around!" "Sorry, sir. So sorry."

- Spider-Man and Ned Leeds

Seeking to get a lift to Maryland, Leeds joined the Academic Decathlon Team in Washington, D.C. for the finals. When Peter Parker ran up to the decathlon team as they were all soon heading onto Washington, D.C. for the national tournament, asking to rejoin the team. Although Flash Thompson had rejected the idea as he had taken Parker's spot, Roger Harrington was delighted to have Parker back and immediately agreed, causing Abe Brown to tease Thompson for being demoted. During the journey to Washington, D.C., Liz Toomes questioned their team to get them ready for the finals. Leeds, however, looked over the Spider-Tracer that Parker implanted to track Vulture's gang. Having Parker excused himself when he got a call from Happy Hogan, Parker told Hogan that having been followed by a tracker in the Spider-Man Suit, although Leeds implied they were invading the Vulture's privacy, leading Parker to convince Hogan that the situation was no big deal. As the call ended, Leeds questioned Parker if it was Tony Stark or Thor, to which he realized that Thor would not used a phone. While they neared their destination, Leeds and Parker then caught sight of the wreckage of the Triskelion, before Michelle Jones came over to them and had explained that Damage Control was still clearing up the damage left behind by Captain America during the Battle at the Triskelion. While Jones had expressed her own conspiracy theories, Leeds told her that it was probably for Captain America helping other people. With his help beside him, Leeds began using the subsystems to remove the tracker from inside the suit, being told that Parker did not want Tony Stark to know where he was while he tracked Vulture's Crew. Leeds questioned Parker on why he was now lying to Iron Man, receiving a response that he was not lying but just wanted Stark to fully understand everything he could do as a hero, Parker then successfully removed the tracker which he placed on a lamp. Leeds then learned that the suit had more subsystems which all had been disabled by the Training Wheels Protocol, much to Parker's frustration. Being told to be the guy in the chair, Leeds decided to hack into the Spider-Man Suit and disabled the unit, allowing Parker to access all of the suit's abilities. Having to get back on the move, Leeds was told to look after the Chitauri Energy Core and keep it safe while Parker was gone. When Parker ended up being trapped in the Damage Control Deep Storage Vault and missed the finals the next day, Leeds kept the energy core and participated in the finals, leaving the team winning the competition. Once Roger Harrington took the team to the Washington Monument, Leeds was called by Parker to get rid of the energy core only to have it snatched up by Toomes to questioned him, only to retrieve it back to Leeds. At the top of the Monument, Leeds' backpack was starting to burn down as the power core exploded, damaging part of the building and trapping several of the Academic Decathlon team members inside the elevator. While several people were saved by the security, Leeds, Toomes and Harrington were trapped in the elevator, only to be saved by the arrival of Spider-Man.

Back to New York
"Dude, you wanna be a high school dropout!" "I am so far beyond high school right now."

- Ned Leeds and Peter Parker

In the wake of the events of Washington, D.C., Leeds returned back to New York City where all of the new positive attention is being put on Spider-Man, following the success of the Rescue at the Washington Monument. While walking through the school's hallways, Leeds greeted Peter Parker and questioned what it was like being famous without anyone actually knowing, as Parker told Leeds once again to not tell anybody the truth. Leeds told Parker he was going to class only to be told he was not going to class, saying he figured out the Vulture was using the technology stolen from Damage Control to make weapons and all he had to do now was catch the Vulture in the act. Having Parker losing his Spider-Man Suit, Leeds waited for him to return to his daily life at Midtown School of Science and Technology and also put his superhero activities on hold. Sitting at the hallway, Leeds confronted Parker after he was sent to the office of Principal Morita. Leeds assumed Parker was expelled only to be wrong, relieved on how lucky he was. While Parker improved his school work, Leeds and him finished the they had worked on for months, much to their considerable satisfaction.

Fighting Shocker
"What are you doing here? There's a dance." "Uh… I'm… looking at… porn."

- Monica Warren and Ned Leeds

At the homecoming dance, Leeds discovered that Peter Parker left the dance. After following his friend, Leeds discovered Shocker nearly killing his friend. Trying to save his friend's life, Leeds intervened and distracted Shocker with one of Parker's Web-Shooters, giving Spider-Man the advantage to web him against a bus. Upon recovering, Parker revealed to Ned that the Vulture is in really Adrian Toomes, Liz's father, much to Leeds' shock. As Parker went after the Vulture before he could steal Avengers' equipment, Leeds was able to contact Happy Hogan, and locating Parker's phone, which was on Toomes' car. Leeds used a couple of computers in the school to help Parker in his mission, as well as to help him drive Flash Thompson's car, which Parker stole from him, much to Ned's delight. After Spider-Man arrived to the Vulture's lair, Leeds was caught by Monica Warren, one of the school's teachers. To cover for Parker, he claimed to be watching pornography.

Back to School Life
"It looked so insane. That whole-- Like, it was just crazy. He-- He was just, like... And you were like... And then I just hit him with the... It was so-- Oh, my God." "I mean, you saved me. It was awesome."

- Ned Leeds and Peter Parker

The day after Adrian Toomes' incarceration, Leeds and Peter Parker had returned back to Midtown School of Science and Technology and talked about their fight against the Shocker, while Parker then thanked him for saving his life. They quickly ran into Liz Toomes, who was moving to Oregon due to her father's request, to which Parker decided to talked to her. Leeds and Parker then participated in the decathlon meeting in an announcement of their new leader: Michelle Jones. When Jones stated that her friend's call her "MJ", Ned reminded to Jones that she told them that she has no friends, to which Jones stated that she didn't had. Sometime after, Leeds was interviewed by Betty Brant and Jason Ionello, anchors of the school's news team, as to his thoughts on Spider-Man's true identity. Leeds, defending his best friend's identity, responded that the costumed hero's identity was a mystery and would always be.

Field Trip
"Ned! Hey! I need you to cause a distraction." "Holy shit. We're all gonna die! There's a spaceship! Everybody hide!"

- Peter Parker and Ned Leeds

On a field trip, Leeds was listening to music, when Peter Parker tapped him on the shoulder to ask him to cause a distraction. Leeds looked at Parker, until he saw the Q-Ship descending on Greenwich Village, where he started screaming that an invasion was occurring, drawing everyone's attention, including the bus driver, allowing Parker to escape the bus and head towards the disturbance.

Heartfelt Reunion
Five years after the end of the Infinity War, Ned was able to reunite with Peter after he was brought back from the dead along half life in the universe when the Avengers reversed the effects of the Decimation.

Personality
"What is like being famous when nobody knows it's you? It's crazy. Should we tell everyone?"

- Ned Leeds to Peter Parker

Ned Leeds is a highly intelligent science enthusiast, hacker, gamer, and geek, though he is also somewhat socially awkward, hence his close friendship with Peter Parker. Leeds is strongly displeased with being the school geek and wishes to become more popular. Initially, upon discovering that Parker is the Spider-Man, Leeds wanted to use his friend's alter-ego for rather selfish needs such as making himself and Parker more popular by claiming that Spider-Man was their close friend.

Leeds was very excited that Parker is a superhero and immediately wanted to be his "guy in the chair". After realizing that criminals could've killed Parker multiple times he began to take the Spider-Man more seriously and genuinely wanted to help Parker capture the Vulture, offering support whenever he could.

Abilities

 * Gifted Intelligence: Ned Leeds, like his friend Peter Parker, is an intelligent science enthusiast, and a member of the Midtown School of Science and Technology academic decathlon team.
 * Expert Hacker: Ned Leeds is a hacker skilled enough to bypass the Training Wheels Protocol installed in the Spider-Man Suit by Tony Stark himself.

Equipment

 * Spider-Man Mask: While attempting to locate the Vulture, Leeds tried on Peter Parker's mask for his own amusement.
 * Web-Shooters: Leeds used one of Spider-Man's Web-Shooters to keep the Shocker from using his Gauntlet to kill Spider-Man.

Facilities

 * Midtown School of Science and Technology: To be added

Family

 * Father
 * Mother

Allies

 * Midtown School of Science and Technology
 * Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Classmate and Best Friend
 * Michelle Jones - Classmate, Decathlon Leader and Close Friend
 * Liz Toomes - Former Classmate and Former Decathlon Leader
 * Betty Brant - Classmate and Close Friend
 * Charles Murphy - Classmate
 * Cindy Moon - Classmate
 * Abe Brown - Classmate
 * Sally Avril - Classmate
 * Tiny McKeever - Classmate
 * Seymour O'Reilly - Classmate
 * Jason Ionello - Classmate
 * Roger Harrington - Teacher and Decathlon Supervisor
 * Monica Warren - Teacher
 * Barry Hapgood - Teacher
 * Wilson - Coach
 * May Parker
 * Happy Hogan

Enemies

 * Flash Thompson - Classmate
 * Adrian Toomes' Crew
 * Adrian Toomes/Vulture
 * Herman Schultz/Shocker
 * Randy Vale

Trivia

 * In the comics, Ned Leeds is a reporter for the Daily Bugle who married Betty Brant, and was brainwashed into believing and acting as the criminal known as the Hobgoblin.
 * The MCU version of Ned Leeds shares similarities with Ganke Lee, the best friend of Miles Morales from the Ultimate Universe. Their most notable similarities are their physical appearances and their shared obsession with superheroes and LEGO. This was referenced in the comics when Ganke adopted the alias of "Ned" to hide his true identity from Danika Hart.

Behind the Scenes
To be added