Hobgoblin gives Nightcrawler one of the cleverest fights in the Guard's debut. Faced with a shapeshifter who becomes a large alien monster, Kurt answers with a transformation of…

Hobgoblin gives Nightcrawler one of the cleverest fights in the Guard's debut. Faced with a shapeshifter who becomes a large alien monster, Kurt answers with a transformation of his own. His is a trick. The image inducer lets Nightcrawler appear to become an even more alarming creature. There is no new giant body behind the image. Hobgoblin only has to believe there might be one for the deception to work. He loses his concentration and returns to his usual form, leaving Kurt an opening to knock him out. Colossus had been ready to take on the monster physically, but Nightcrawler finds an answer that doesn't depend on meeting its apparent strength. The scene is funny without making the underlying ability useless. Shapeshifting has produced a real threat. The weakness comes from the person using it being surprised by an opponent who understands how much a frightening appearance can accomplish. That is a particularly good match for Nightcrawler. His own appearance so often decides how strangers react to him. Here, he deliberately chooses what somebody sees and uses that reaction to win a fight. His thought afterward adds something gentler to the encounter. Kurt regrets that he and the shapeshifter probably won't get the chance to meet as friends. He can recognize the possibility of enjoying somebody's company even while they are enemies. Hobgoblin's place in the launch comes from that combination of spectacle and personality. A monster transformation starts the scene, a visual bluff reverses it, and an unexpectedly friendly thought closes it. The Guard can contain people the X-Men might like under different circumstances. D'Ken's orders have made sure these are not those circumstances.