It’s truly incredible how Marvel has found a way to elevate superheroes and the niche comic culture to the mainstream narratives of the decade. It’s impossible to avoid the massive Marvel machine and the ways in which the successful and expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe has literally changed the way that the film industry operates. The MCU combines exciting action, with a passion for the source material, and incredible performances that embody the characters.
It’s exciting to see these characters come to life in live-action, but there’s also a healthy animated side to Marvel that features even more noteworthy performances. There are definitely surprising additions to the animated side of the Marvel universe, for better and for worse, that deserve some attention.
10 Nailed It: Graham McTavish’s Loki Is Gleefully Chaotic, As He Should Be
Graham McTavish is a Scottish actor that commands a lot of gravitas, which has helped him embody intimidating live-action roles in Preacher, Outlander, as well as the iconic role of Dracula in Netflix’s animated Castlevania series. This roster of roles is proof enough that McTavish can handle a crafty Marvel character like Loki.
McTavish applies a wry sense of chaos to the Trickster God and his performance has carried over across The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to the Hulk Vs. animated feature. It’s hard to top Tom Hiddleston’s performance as Loki, but McTavish’s vocal rendition gets quite close.
9 Fell Short: Jennifer Carpenter Turns Black Widow Into A Cold Machine
There have been several Marvel animated direct-to-video movies in recent years that center around powerful combinations of characters. Black Widow becomes vital in this capacity and helps headline movies like Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher.
The feature attempts to bring the edge of Jennifer Carpenter’s Debra from Dexter to the Black Widow character, but it never fully comes together. Carpenter sounds mechanical as Natasha, which is sometimes the point, but it doesn’t work here, especially opposite the Punisher. Carpenter’s chemistry with Brian Bloom also struggles to find footing.
8 Nailed It: Few Casting Choices Are More Sublime Than Milana Vayntrub As Squirrel Girl
Doreen Green, aka Squirrel Girl, is one of Marvel’s newer superheroes and the character has already gained a massive following due to her energetic attitude and satirical approach towards heroics. There have been efforts to make a live-action Squirrel Girl happen, but in the meantime, the next best thing is the character’s prominent role in the Marvel Rising animated project.
Vayntrub brings the perfect amount of enthusiasm to Doreen and she just disappears in the character. If a live-action version does ever happen, then Vayntrub should be the first person under consideration.
7 Fell Short: Tara Strong’s Mary Jane Watson Blends In With The Crowd In Marvel Rising
The animated Marvel Rising universe is a great environment for some of Marvel’s new heroes to properly incubate. Marvel Rising puts a healthy focus on neglected groups of heroes and it’s given a strong platform for characters like Spider-Gwen, Ironheart, and Squirrel Girl.
In that sense, Mary Jane Watson is an appreciated character, but she feels tacked on and ancillary to the other characters. This puts Tara Strong in a difficult position when it comes to this version of Mary Jane Watson. Mary Jane doesn’t pop as much as she should, especially when she’s surrounded by stronger characters.
6 Nailed It: Ed Asner Is Delightfully Ornery As J. Jonah Jameson In The ‘90s Spider-Man Series
Spider-Man is one Marvel character who has gotten more opportunities than anyone else. He’s received multiple adaptations, both with feature films as well as animated series. Spider-Man: The Animated Series from the 1990s is a humble cartoon, but it elegantly adapts most of Spider-Man’s biggest and influential stories.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series is excellent with character development, but it also benefits from talent like Ed Asner that’s involved. Asner lends his skills to bring the belligerent J. Jonah Jameson to life. Asner’s lifetime of experience can be heard in every one of the insults that Jameson hurls at Peter Parker.
5 Fell Short: Ron Perlman Loses Sight Of The Hulk & Bruce Banner
Ron Perlman is always a welcome face in genre programming and the actor’s charisma plays a large part. Ron Perlman’s intimidating size and voice make him a strong fit for some of Marvel’s heavier hitters. Perlman steps in to play Bruce Banner and the Hulk in the ‘90s Fantastic Four animated series.
Perlman also reprises his role in the ‘90s animated Iron Man series, but he just doesn’t do enough to make the Hulk his own. It also doesn’t help that Perlman does double duty as Wizard and similarities between them can be heard.
4 Nailed It: Scott McNeil’s Wolverine In X-Men: Evolution Is The Right Kind Of Gruff
There’s still much reverence towards the ‘90s X-Men animated series, but its successor, X-Men: Evolution, is also a fascinating time capsule of the 2000s. X-Men: Evolution strives for a more teen-friendly demographic for the mutant crimefighters, but it still digs into the franchise’s most important storylines.
X-Men: Evolution features some bold new takes on classic characters, but many of them come across as improvements. Scott McNeil is a legendary voice actor in the anime community and he’s a natural fit to voice Wolverine in Evolution. McNeil properly accentuates Wolverine’s simmering anger, but still allows him depth and quiet intensity.
3 Fell Short: Hank Azaria Brings The Wrong Flavor To Spider-Man’s Symbiote Foe
Hank Azaria deserves to be in the voice actor hall of fame for his formative work as dozens of characters on The Simpsons. However, Azaria has also dipped his toe in Marvel’s animated universe and in an especially iconic role. Spider-Man: The Animated Series gives Azaria the crucial role of Eddie Brock and the infectious symbiote that takes him over.
Azaria has talent and range, but he’s too out there for Brock and Venom. There’s a cautious fear in Azaria’s performance, but so much more has been done with Venom that Azaria’s work feels like a dress rehearsal in retrospect.
2 Nailed It: Mark Hamill Highlights How Horrifying Spider-Man’s Hobgoblin Can Be
Mark Hamill is a fascinating performer and his unparalleled performance as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series tends to get the most acclaim, but it’s important to not discount the strong work he also delivers in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
Hamill voices the Hobgoblin and he truly lets the twisted and unhinged nature of the villain loose. It’d be easy for Hamill’s work here to just be a variation of his Joker voice, but Hamill concocts a subtly different psychopath that only further demonstrates his talent. Hamill certainly proves that he’s “the one and only goblin.”
1 Fell Short: Neil Patrick Harris’ Spider-Man Feels Too Much Like A Performance
The casting of a celebrity as a signature superhero can sometimes be a match made in heaven, but it can also scream artificiality. Spider-Man: The New Animated Series is an edgy 2003 animated series for the MTV crowd. The animation style leaves a lot to be desired and its major play for attention is through the casting of Neil Patrick Harris as Peter Parker.
Neil Patrick Harris embodies the right level of smarminess for the character, but he overthinks every line of dialogue. Parker’s aloof persona feels orchestrated and unnatural. It puts the celebrity in front of the character.
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