Following last week's report from the Daily Bugle Tumblr that teased the Spider Slayers in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, a new report has surfaced that may hint at The Hobgoblin's presence, along with the She-Venom. To read the full report from City Bureau reporter Ned Leeds, which centers on Dr. Curt Connors' criminal trial, CLICK HERE

Cold-Blooded Killer?

By Ned Leeds, City Bureau

A trial date has been set in the New York Appellate Court for alleged bio-terrorist Dr. Curt Connors. The former Oscorp biogenetics scientist has been indicted on twenty city and state counts, including trespassing, malicious destruction of property, theft of private property, aggravated assault, and using a weapon of mass destruction. Connors has pleaded "not guilty" to all counts. It is expected his defense attorney, Anne Weying, will claim Connors was not responsible for the actions of his genetically transformed alter ego, the Lizard.

Connors claimed that pressure placed on him by his employer, Oscorp, led him to rush his bio-restorative formula and test it on himself. He further stipulated to the grand jury that his decision to use the untested compound was made in an effort to protect the company from experimenting on innocent civilians, as directed by his superiors. Connors' immediate supervisor at Oscorp, Dr. Rajit Ratha, has been missing since the day before the Lizard's attack.

Oscorp spokesman, Donald Menken, responded, "We can't corroborate or deny Dr. Connor's claims. Dr. Ratha's abrupt departure from Oscorp has left us with far more questions than answers. Needless to say, Oscorp has always complied with the most stringent local, state and federal regulations for all of our research and development."

The reporter Ned Leeds was a regular character in the comic books. He was married to the Bugle's Betty Brant and was once thought to be Spider-Man's nemesis Hobgoblin. However, it was subsequently revealed that he was brainwashed into thinking he was Hobgoblin by the actual villain, Roderick Kingsley.

Donald Menken, who was mentioned in last week's story, doesn't have an alter-ego, but his first appearance in the comics coincided with the Hobgoblin's debut. Attorney Anne Weying is also named in the article, who was the ex-wife of Eddie Brock (Venom), and, at one point, became the symbiote She-Venom in the comics. The disappearance of Oscorp's Rajit Ratha, played by Irrfan Khan in The Amazing Spider-Man, is brought up for the second week in a row.

Stay tuned for more Daily Bugle stories as we get closer to The Amazing Spider-Man 2's release next summer.