Spider-Man: No Way Home Ending Explained: How Peter Parker Loses Everyone He Loves to Save the Multiverse

The biggest leak going into Spider-Man: No Way Home turned out to be true. Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire are both in the film. Andrew is indeed the version some fans nicknamed the werewolf, and yes, there is a scene involving Tobey Maguire that had people talking for years before release. Everyone who spent months insisting this was happening can finally rest. Beyond those two, the film has a number of other big surprises, and it is the most fun I have had in a theater since Avengers Endgame. I am calling the three Spider-Men by their actor names throughout, since referring to them as Peter 1, 2 and 3 would get confusing, but each one brings something different to the story.

The film picks up immediately after the events of Far From Home, with Peter's identity now public and the fallout hitting everyone around him. His name is cleared by Matt Murdock, but his life and the lives of his friends are ruined by the court of public opinion. Their applications to MIT are rejected, none of them can get into any school, and conspiracy theories swirl around Spider-Man, with a large group of Mysterio supporters convinced Peter is a murderer. They end up moving into Happy's apartment, which still has Dum-E from the Iron Man films sitting around, and there is a return trip to Delmar's deli in Queens, the same deli Peter visited in Homecoming, where he wears a t-shirt Tony gave him in that movie.

Doctor Strange's Spell to Erase Peter's Identity Goes Wrong and Shatters the Multiverse

With his friends' lives ruined, Peter goes to Doctor Strange to try to erase the knowledge that he is Spider-Man from everyone's minds, hoping to give his friends back some normality. His constant interrupting during the casting causes the spell to shatter the multiverse instead, pulling in people from other Spider-Man franchises who know Peter Parker's secret identity, including several of his enemies, most notably the Green Goblin, played once more by Willem Dafoe. The spell does not work properly, and it eventually gets cast again later in the film, which ends up destroying pretty much every friendship and relationship Peter has.

The build up to the spell is changed from what the trailers showed. Some corners of the internet had convinced themselves that Strange was actually the demon Mephisto in disguise based on those teasers, but that is not the case here. Strange is simply trying to help Peter as best he can.

The Story Pulls From Civil War, One More Day, and Happy Birthday

No Way Home draws from several comic storylines. In the Civil War comic run, Peter unmasked publicly during a PR stunt for the Superhuman Registration Act, which helped trigger the Marvel Universe's civil war between Iron Man and Captain America. Peter switched sides from Tony to Steve, but with his identity exposed, those around him were put in danger. Kingpin sent assassins after him, and during one attack Aunt May was shot and left in critical condition. Desperate, Peter went to Doctor Strange in a rundown Sanctum Sanctorum and asked him to reach into other timelines for help, but every mind they consulted said there was nothing to be done.

That is when Mephisto showed up in the comics, offering to heal May in exchange for Peter and Mary Jane's love. They sacrificed their marriage to save her and to keep anyone from targeting the people Peter loved again, with Peter also insisting the world forget he was Spider-Man. The film also borrows from the Happy Birthday storyline, in which Dormammu attacks New York and Peter interrupts a Strange spell that tears open reality itself, leading him inside a void where he encounters two other versions of himself from the past and future, mirroring the arrival of the other two Spider-Men here. There are several Easter eggs pointing toward their arrival, including Tobey's back being busted up, a nod to Tobey Maguire's real back injury that once nearly got him recast with Jake Gyllenhaal in Spider-Man 2.

Peter Fights and Tries to Cure Doc Ock, Electro, Sandman, and Lizard

After the villains arrive, Peter goes to try to convince an MIT staff member to let his friends in, but before he can plead his case, Doctor Octopus attacks. During the fight, Otto slices off Peter's tie and cuts his suit, callbacks to Spider-Man 3 when Tobey Maguire's version had the same thing happen to him. Peter manages to override Otto's tentacles through the nanotech and subdue him, but the Green Goblin arrives right after, and before Peter can face him, he is transported below the Sanctum, where Otto is imprisoned alongside the Lizard, who had a run in with Strange.

From there Peter is tasked with capturing the villains, with Ned and MJ helping him. He finds Electro draining power out in the woods, aided by Sandman, though he ends up transporting them both to the prison, planting some doubt in Sandman that surfaces later. Osborn is shown talking to his mask like in the earlier films before smashing it and fleeing, and the way it shatters resembles Tobey's version discarding his costume in Spider-Man 2, hinting that Osborn may have beaten back the darkness inside him. After finding the villains at a shelter, May convinces Peter he has to help them, so he steals the spell contained inside a box holding the magic, leading to a chase across the mirror dimension where Peter bests Strange and takes his sling ring, leaving him trapped there.

Back at Happy's place, Peter uses the same lab equipment from Far From Home to build cures, starting with a chip to fix the broken one in Otto's neck so he regains control of his own mind. He also builds a device to draw energy from Electro, and while working on removing the Goblin from Norman, the Goblin instead talks Electro into destroying the device so they can become gods in this reality. Electro steals the arc reactor powering the workbench, Sandman leaves, and the Lizard runs off into the night in front of news cameras. Otto flees as well, leaving Peter alone to face the Goblin, who easily overpowers him.

Green Goblin Kills Aunt May and Peter Flees to a Rooftop

In the lobby, Osborn knocks May down with his glider and launches a pumpkin bomb at her. She initially seems fine, but later collapses and dies after telling Peter that with great power comes great responsibility. Happy is arrested at the scene and screams for Peter to run, and Peter flees to a rooftop where he used to spend time with MJ away from everyone else.

Across town, Ned and MJ are desperate to find him, and using Strange's sling ring, Ned opens a portal simply by wishing he could find Peter Parker. That wish pulls across Andrew, and later Tobey when the spell is repeated. Seeing them reunited is one of the most impactful scenes I have watched in a cinema in a long time, and Garfield especially "knocks it out the park whenever he's on screen." In the comics Ned eventually becomes the Hobgoblin, and while the film seems to be steering him toward becoming a sorcerer instead, following some lip service paid to Harry Osborn, he vows never to turn on Peter, though what happens after the ending leaves that open.

Three Spider-Men Team Up to Cure the Villains and Fight the Goblin at the Statue of Liberty

Tobey, Andrew and Tom share scenes touching on Gwen, Uncle Ben, the web shooters, and even a nod to the Spider-Man pointing meme, before building cures for all the villains. They announce through the Daily Bugle that everyone will be at the newly rebuilt Statue of Liberty, and together the three Spider-Men administer the cures, including the one seen at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man, a reverse collider for Sandman, and help fixing Electro.

Things go well until the Green Goblin grabs the box holding the spell and plants a pumpkin bomb inside it, blowing reality open and letting more villains from other franchises start pouring into the MCU, including the Rhino, either Scorpion or a Spider Slayer, and others capable of devastating the world. Ned and MJ get caught in the fight, and Andrew gets his redemption by catching MJ from a fall, something he was unable to do for Gwen. Peter nearly kills the Goblin for what he did to May, but is stopped at the last second from ramming a glider into his face by Tobey, who takes a stab wound in the process. Andrew then tosses the cure to Tom, who injects the Goblin and cures him of his darker side.

With the villains and their Spider-Men reconciled, they return to their own universes to escape the deaths that were coming for them there. May instilled in Tom the idea that if he saves one person, he saves everyone, and that belief stops a lot of heartbreak across the other realities.

Peter Erases Himself From MJ, Ned, and Happy's Memories

Reality is still tearing apart, so Peter realizes the only way to stop it is to have Strange cast the spell to make the entire world forget he is Spider-Man. He has a tearful goodbye with MJ, promising he will come find her and Ned afterward and tell them about himself so they can remember him. He visits MJ where she works, clearly having the whole conversation planned out, but when Ned arrives and they start talking about MIT, he starts to have second thoughts. MJ is even wearing the black dahlia necklace he gave her in Far From Home, but she cannot remember they ever met. Noticing a band aid on a cut she got at the Statue of Liberty, Peter decides to leave both her and Ned, since she seems happier and being near him would only put her in danger.

This mirrors the ending of the first Raimi Spider-Man film, where Peter turns away from someone he loves to spare them the pain of his life. It is completely devastating, and I would argue it is one of the most painful endings to an MCU film. Peter visits May's grave and is joined by Happy, who does not recognize him either, though Happy brings up Tony and what May's death meant, which pushes Peter forward even at his lowest point. The film closes with him moving into his own apartment alone, no Mr. Delkovich this time, clearly setting it up as a base of operations. He is picking up police frequencies and has made a costume that looks just like the classic suit from the comics. It is a bittersweet ending: the people around him have forgotten what he meant to them, but he has not forgotten what they meant to him.

What Could Come Next: Dark Avengers, Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, and Black Cat

With the villains reformed and sent back to their own timelines, there could be some big things down the line. No sequels have been announced, but Sony rarely turns down a paycheck, so another Maguire or Garfield film is possible, and maybe even one centered on the villains. Their reform could hint at a Dark Avengers group led by Norman Osborn, since in the comics, after Civil War, Osborn was appointed to build his own superhero team that included Lady Loki, and the Loki series on Disney Plus already introduced a similar character, which could be the direction that follows. There is also some lip service to Miles Morales, since Electro says he hopes there is a universe out there where Spider-Man is Black.

Knowing Peter had to sacrifice his relationship with MJ so she could be safe is something that stuck with me long after leaving the theater, and it echoes the comics' One More Day storyline, where their love is taken from them by Mephisto, even though the devil never actually appears in this film. In the comics MJ was not always with Peter, and at one point dated Brad, the character from Far From Home. MJ went all in with Peter only after learning he was Spider-Man, so without that memory, there is a chance she could go back to Brad. I also think this ending opens the door for another love interest to enter Peter's life. Garfield's version hinted at Gwen throughout, so I could see Gwen coming into the MCU, maybe even a version of Spider-Gwen. It could also be a way to introduce Black Cat, since Felicity Jones played Felicia in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 but never shared a scene with Peter and never wore the costume. I would love to see her brought into the films, since Felicia brings a lot of attitude to the character, and Tom's version might pick up some of that energy too, especially with what the post credit scene leaves behind.

The Post-Credit Scene Sends Eddie Brock's Venom Back to His Own Universe

The mid-credits scene follows on from Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Venom was about to show Eddie Brock a glimpse of what his species had done across the cosmos when the pair were pulled into the MCU. A hotel television shows a news report from J. Jonah Jameson revealing that Spider-Man is Peter Parker, and Venom says he looks tasty before licking the screen. Anyone hoping this meant Venom was staying in the MCU will likely be disappointed, since he gets sent home almost as fast as he arrived. Eddie ends up at a bar in Mexico, catching up on events, and is stunned to learn there are so many superheroes in this reality when in his own he is the only one, recounting things like a billionaire with a tin suit that flies, an angry green man, and a purple alien who loves stones. He mentions maybe going to New York to talk to this Spider-Man before he is pulled back out of the MCU, leaving behind a piece of the symbiote on the bar that now carries the idea it should travel to New York City.

In the comics, Peter picks up a black suit during Secret Wars that turns out to be a parasitic symbiote bringing out the darker parts of his personality. After he removes it, it infects a rival at the Daily Bugle named Eddie Brock. It is not clear whether this universe's Eddie Brock will end up being Tom Hardy's version, and the order events would have to play out in feels a little strange: a Venom from a separate universe, unaware of Spider-Man, briefly visits the MCU, leaves behind some symbiote, returns home, and that leftover symbiote then attaches to Peter, kicking off the black suit saga that eventually infects Eddie. It is a strange way to lay the sequence out, but it has been reported that Tom Holland has signed on for three more solo Spider-Man films, and I think Harry Osborn could be introduced during that stretch, alongside other characters like Felicia who would suit the personality shifts a Venom symbiote brings out.

My Verdict: Nine Out of Ten Despite a Choppy Opening

I loved the film, but I did have some issues with it early on, and I think it is only fair to mention both negatives and positives rather than pretend everything is perfect. The first hour felt pretty choppy and scattered at points, likely because it had to wrap up the Mysterio cliffhanger while also setting up the multiverse storyline, so some elements did not get the development time they needed. I also had a rough time at the cinema itself, where the film had to be restarted five times, meaning I watched the first ten minutes over and over because of a technical issue that would not get fixed, which may have colored my early impression.

As soon as Willem Dafoe enters the film, though, it gets better and better with every scene. A lot of the movie had already leaked online, but watching the moments actually play out was still hugely enjoyable, and it will be interesting to see whether Marvel can top this. Tobey Maguire brings real wisdom to the screen, and Garfield is, at this point, my favorite Spider-Man. The ending might be the best ending to a Marvel film, showing the sacrifice that comes with being a hero, and once the film properly got going, my early complaints were long forgotten. This is the best MCU Spider-Man film for me, though I would still rank Spider-Man 2 and Into the Spider-Verse above it overall. Spider-Man: No Way Home gets a nine out of ten from me.

What do you think should come next for Peter, MJ, and the villains who got sent home?