Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man ending explained: which Marvel characters make cameos and how does it set up season 2?

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man swung onto our screens earlier this year bringing us a new Marvel adventure to enjoy. In fact, our four star Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man review praised the Disney Plus series for being a much needed breath of fresh air. However, with a somewhat strange release schedule that saw episodes released in bulk over the weeks, our journey with Spidey has already come to an end with a double-bill finale.

Free from the constraints of the MCU and the Sacred Timeline, the show takes place on another timeline, following this Peter Parker during his early days as the young hero Spider-Man. Most importantly instead of Tony Stark being his mentor, here it is Norman Osborn in a neat twist on Marvel lore.

All the exciting drama came to a head in an action-packed finale which unveiled what Osborn had been secretly planning, wrapped up this season's story, and teased what could lie next. However fellow web-heads, with so much going on you may have questions but don't worry – we are here to help with our Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man ending explained, which takes a deep dive into the show's conclusion.

Naturally, the following features major spoilers about Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man episode 10 and its ending, so make sure you are all caught up before reading on.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man ending recap

The final act of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man kicks off when Norman Osborn welcomes the interns to something he calls 'Project Monolith'. It turns out that behind the scenes, Osborn has been using their work to create a gateway to outer space – an Einstein–Rosen bridge, which we have seen before in the MCU.

In fact, Osborn references several key events from MCU history such as Thor's arrival in New Mexico and the Chitauri invasion of New York, which all also happened in this universe, using gateways like the one he has created. Osborn now wants mankind to use it too, so they can become revered like gods – really, we should have seen this coming from Osborn.

His scientists punch in some random coordinates and the Doctor Strange from the show's very first episode appears, telling Osborn that he can no longer continue. Peter recognizes Strange from that episode's battle at Midtown (although the Doctor doesn't remember), whilst Osborn tells his security to handle him and activate Monolith.

A portal opens and from it emerges the same symbiote that Strange was fighting during that Midtown battle. As the conflict commences, Osborn says that he never intended for any of this to happen and leaves, whilst Spidey joins Strange in the fight.

Peter suggests that they get the Monolith machine up and running again, so Strange distracts the symbiote by opening a portal taking it to Midtown, starting a time loop. That's because this is the same fight that we saw during the show's opening episode.

In fact, we see a spider leave Osborn's lab, go into the portal, and bite Peter – just as it did in the show's debut episode. Realizing that he's not meant to be here, Strange takes the symbiote back to the lab, where Peter reports that he is now able to get the machine working again.

The symbiote screams, calling for its friends to help, and we see their faces through the gateway. However, Strange manages to throw the symbiote fully back into the portal with Peter then shutting it down. However, a blob from the symbiote does float through which is never a good sign... especially since it is Norman who comes across this!

We cut to the aftermath, where a news reporter is speaking about a "test" that has "gone wrong" at Oscorp. Peter shares that he wants to quit the internship and Harry Osborn reveals that he wishes there was more he could do to help. Nico tells him that he should just start his own business, hiring smart people without ever exploiting them. And so, that's exactly what he does, as he begins to invite people to join his new company WEB.

Spidey then finds Strange, who tells our protagonist that the Midtown attack should have never happened. The young hero asks what to expect from the future but the Doctor won't share any details, other than telling Peter that he's "ready". As Strange says goodbye, we see The Watcher from fellow Marvel animated show What If...? in the sky looking down at them.

The next scene features the return of Charlie Cox's Daredevil following his cameo earlier on in the season. He is stood with Jeanne Foucault, aka Marvel comics character Finesse, who was an intern working alongside Peter at Oscorp. It turns out that the pair have been working together and as Foucault receives an invite to join Harry's company, Daredevil tells her to accept so that they can "keep an eye" on everything.

If you are wondering what happened to Lonnie, aka Tombstone, we also see Harry invite him to WEB. He's still mixed up with the One Tenth gang though – in fact, it looks like he's their new leader after Big Donovan ran away from the fight against Scorpion earlier on in the season. Lonnie does tell the gang members that he wants to "turn things around" but what that means exactly, we'll have to wait to find out.

Nico, meanwhile, does a summoning with her mysterious jewel, saying "it's so good to see you again mom" – something magical is definitely going on here. We then see Otto Octavius pinning a picture of his tentacle suit on the wall of his prison cell, teasing that perhaps the Doc is planning to break out.

Also at the prison, Aunt May is paying someone a visit, who at the very last moment is revealed to be none other than Richard Parker, Peter's dad who hadn't been mentioned before in the show. He asks how his son is doing and we are left with a million of questions ourselves.

Of course, this show is titled Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, so the very last scene sees Spidey swinging through the city, likely on his way to stop some more crime.

What was Norman Osborn planning? What is Project Monolith?

We should have known that Norman Osborn was secretly plotting something dangerous all along – he couldn't have just been a good guy! As revealed in the finale, Osborn was using the interns' work to create a machine that can open portals to outer space, which humanity can then use to travel becoming "revered like gods". He calls this Project Monolith.

Of course, the test run didn't go well as seen in the finale and it seems that a regretful Osborn has learnt his lesson. However, the designs for the machine still exists at Oscorp which means that it could perhaps be misused again in the future.

Which Marvel characters make cameos in the Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man finale?

Given that the series has featured plenty of cameos throughout its run, it should be no surprise that the finale follows suit. Here's the list of cameos that feature in episode 10:

• Doctor Strange – after appearing in the first episode, Strange shows up during the finale to warn Osborn of the dangers of Project Monolith and fights against an alien symbiote that arrives on Earth via the gateway that is opened
• The symbiote (and his friends) – this alien (that is very much a Venom-like character) arrives on Earth after travelling through the portal and in a key scene, he calls for his fellow symbiotes to come too with their faces emerging through the gateway
• The Watcher – we see The Watcher from What If...? (an ancient being who silently observes all universes) in the sky looking down at Spider-Man, which neatly links this show to the other animated multiverse set series
• Daredevil – Charlie Cox reprised his role as the Man Without Fear earlier in the season but returns here too wanting to "keep an eye" on what the Osborn family are up to, clearly unable to trust them (and given what happened at Oscorp in the finale, he would be right to do so)
• Jeanne Foucault/Finesse – it's revealed that Peter's fellow intern Jeanne is actually Finesse, a morally ambiguous character in the comics who switches between villain and hero. Here she is seen working with Daredevil as he instructs her to join Harry's company, making us believe she will be the latter in this series.
• Richard Parker – easily the most exciting cameo of the finale comes right at the end, as we see Aunt May visit Richard Parker (Peter's dad) in prison. It is unclear why exactly he is behind bars but we are sure all will be revealed in the future...

Who dies in the Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man finale?

Despite the fact that the stakes are high during the action-packed Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man finale, no one dies during the Marvel show's conclusion. The fight against the symbiote is certainly intense, but Spidey and Strange manage to send it back through the portal without any deaths – even that alien antagonist seemingly survives as it is returned home.

Is there a Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man post-credit scene?

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man finale doesn't have a post-credit scene so feel free to turn the episode off once the credits start rolling. However, that doesn't mean that events aren't set up for the next chapter...

Will there be a Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 2? And if so, how does the finale set it up?

Before the show even started airing, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man had been renewed for not only season 2, but season 3 too. That's how much faith Marvel had in the new Disney Plus series!

But what can you expect from Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 2? Although no details have been revealed thus far, plenty is set up during the finale which gives us some indication as to what we could expect.

Firstly, Norman Osborn encountered the blob from the alien symbiote which floated through the gateway. Given that the billionaire wants humanity to be "revered like gods" our bet is that he will experiment with this, leading to disastrous consequences. Since the symbiote is similar to Venom, maybe the fan-favorite Spider-Man villain could make an appearance during season 2. Furthermore, Osborn still has the plans for Project Monolith so perhaps his experimentation with the blob will lead to him opening yet another gateway to space.

It should be remembered too that Doc Ock is still alive and well, seemingly plotting his escape from prison, so it is likely that he will want his revenge next season.

Daredevil will also probably return too since he is still invested in following the Osborn family's activity. The same is true for Foucault/Finesse who has joined Harry's company. Harry probably has the best of intentions with WEB but our guess is that something will go wrong...

As for Peter's other friends, Lonnie had an emotional arc this season as he joined the One Tenth gang. Seemingly their new leader, it will be interesting to see if he spirals further into the criminal underworld or tries to change things for the better.

Meanwhile Nico had an interesting scene at the end of the finale, as she used her mystical jewel to reunite with her long lost mother. It's not clear yet quite what is going on with all of that in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, so we are guessing that the magical gem will be further explored in season 2. In the comics, Nico becomes a sorceress known as Sister Grimm whose parents are villainous dark wizards... so whilst it may not be a good thing she sees her mother during the finale, it seems that she will end up using her magical powers for good.

Arguably the biggest mystery season 1 leaves us with though is the reveal that Richard Parker, Peter's dad, is in prison. He's not been mentioned all season and no clues have been given as to why he is behind bars – perhaps its a red herring since Richard is typically depicted as a hero in the comics. It is therefore likely that Richard will play a prominent role in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 2, shaking up Peter's world.

All episodes of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are out now on Disney Plus. For more to add to your watch list, here's our recommendations for the best shows on Disney Plus.