Giving Voice to the Voiceless
[Mark Hamill has tricked The Joker and The Trickster into being captured by Swamp Thing, all three of whom he voices]
Justice League Action “Missing the Mark” (Season 1, Episode 14)
Swamp Thing: “Well, that was a pretty neat trick. Getting them to drive onto the grass where you knew I’d be able to take care of things.”
Joker: “But how?!”
Swamp Thing: “You were so busy thinking of Mark Hamill as a celebrity, you forgot he’s also a talented voice actor!”
Joker: “…What’s a voice actor?”
There are many famous superhero actors. Everyone can think of a few, such as Christopher Reeve, Robert Downey Jr., or Gal Gadot. They portray heroes on the silver screen, but they have it easy. Visual cues can convey what their characters are thinking, but what if they could only rely on their voice?
Voice actors have a more difficult task. With only their words, inflections, or different voices, they bring animated characters to life. Many voice actors have portrayed superheroes over the years but we only have room on this list for Five Great Superhero Voice Actors. So who are they? Let’s find out.
Scene Select
#5 Crispin Freeman
Known for: Hellsing, Fate/Zero, Young Justice, Spectacular Spider-Man
Heroes: Red Arrow/Arsenal, Grand Assassin, Electro
Grand Assassin: “Thou fallen god, to beasthood turned, if “Primordial Mother” be thy title, thou shalt know mine. From the mountain abyss, I come. Only death do I bring. I am the Old Man of the Mountain, the first Hassan-I-Sabbah!”
Fate/Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia “Absolute Demonic Front Mesopotamia: Part 1” (Season 1, Episode 19)
Many superhero voice actors can portray righteous characters, but someone else is needed for anti-heroes. When you need a brooding hero or a monster on the side of the angels, Crispin Freeman is your man.
Crispin Freeman is a lifelong fan of anime who got into the voice acting business to inspire other fans. His big break was the now-defunct Central Park Media’s dub of Slayers. Freeman used the role as a springboard to appear in many anime dubs, video games, and superhero shows.
Freeman has voiced heroes and villains on both sides of the pond. He’s dubbed the android superhero Kikaider, anti-heroic vampire Alucard, and sociopath priest Kirei Kotomine. In the West, he’s voiced Electro, Ant-Man, and the Martian Manhunter. Young Justice featured a tough double role for Freeman as the brooding Arsenal and his well-adjusted clone, Red Arrow.
Freeman specializes in morally-ambiguous characters, reserved monsters, and contemplative heroes. While his deep voice is great for these roles, he’s also at home portraying over-the-top protagonists and ranting villains.
#4 Phil LaMarr
Known for: Futurama, MADtv, Justice League, Pulp Fiction
Heroes: Green Lantern (John Stewart), Static Shock, Aquaman, The Flash
[A villain has merged with the Green Lantern’s central power source]
Justice League “In Blackest Night” (Season 1, Episode 5)
Guardian of the Universe: [dying] “All is lost.”
John: “Not while I’m standing. [starts absorbing the power to destroy the villain] In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night, no evil shall escape my sight! Let those who worship evil’s might… beware my power: GREEN LANTERN’S LIGHT!”
You need a lot of range to be a serious actor and a comedian without one overtaking the other. One superhero voice actor to find that precarious balance is Phil LaMarr.
Phil LaMarr began his voice acting career in the 80s with a cartoon adaptation of Mr. T. He appeared sporadically afterwards, most notably as an informant named Marvin in Pulp Fiction. He found a niche as an impressionist on MADtv before focusing on voice acting.
Green Lantern is Lamarr’s most famous superhero role, bringing a previously obscure version of the character into the mainstream. Lamarr also starred as Static Shock in the titular Emmy-winning show. Over at Marvel, he’s portrayed Black Panther, The Watcher, and many other heroes.
When not playing superheroes, you may find LaMarr helping the Planet Express crew as Hermes Conrad in Futurama. He’s also voiced a version of Dracula based on Redd Foxx, the time-traveling Samurai Jack, and one of the horses from My Little Pony.
#3 Yuri Lowenthal
Known For: Ben 10, Spider-Man, Naruto
Heroes: Ben 10, Superman, Superman X, Spider-Man
Ben: [once an episode] “It’s hero time!”
Ben 10: Alien Force
Quantity has a quality all its own. He may not have the most range out of all the superhero voice actors, but Yuri Lowenthal is one of the most prolific.
An aspiring actor, Yuri Lowenthal was inspired by watching anime as a child. His acting coach was working on the dub of SD Gundam Force and gave him a shot. Lowenthal used this role as a springboard to other roles, eventually gaining acclaim for Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time.
Lowenthal’s signature role is teenage shapeshifter Ben Tennyson from Ben 10. He got the role for the second of five series in 2008 and plays the hero to this day. Lowenthal has also played more famous heroes like Superman, Iceman, Spider-Man, and others over the years.
Young superheroes and brooding teenagers are Lowenthal’s forte. He started with idealistic heroes, but has slowly shifted to angsty roles and morally ambiguous characters, with the occasional giant robot pilot or renegade ninja thrown in for flavor.
#2 Laura Bailey
Known For: Critical Role, Dragon Ball Z, Fullmetal Alchemist, Avengers Assemble
Heroes: Black Widow, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Lucina
Raishan: “Why don’t you stand down and die with dignity?!”
Critical Role “The Deceiver’s Stand” (Campaign 1, Episode 83)
Vex: “We don’t do anything with dignity!”
We’ve already listed three male superhero voice actors and there are plenty more waiting in the wings, but there are just as many professional female superhero voice actors. One of the more famous is our penultimate pick: Laura Bailey.
Laura Bailey was inspired to become an actor by watching Dawson’s Creek. She was discovered while acting in a play and invited to voice a young version of Trunks in Dragon Ball Z. She became a recurring actor for Funimation Studios and branched out into video game work.
Bailey is the go-to voice actor for Black Widow. She has also played Supergirl, Wonder Woman and Lois Lane. When not voicing superheroes, Bailey has played the homicidal homunculus Lust, teenage grim reaper Maka Albarn, and time-traveling warrior princess Lucina.
One can’t mention Laura Bailey’s career without bringing up her time on Critical Role. She’s been part of the wildly popular Dungeons and Dragons stream since its 2015 debut, playing the greedy ranger Vex, childish trickster Jester, and psychic sorcerer Imogen. Between all three campaigns, she’s racked up more than four hundred hours of content from this show alone.
Children and deep-voiced heroines are Bailey’s area of expertise. On top of her work for television and movies, she’s also a prolific video game voice actor.
#1 Tara Strong
Known for: My Little Pony, Teen Titans, The New Batman Adventures, Hello Kitty
Heroes: Batgirl, Raven, Harley Quinn, Sif
Harley Quinn: “Can you make me a pony?”
Injustice 2
Mr. Freeze: [raises his freeze gun] “I shall make the twilight sparkle.”
Harley Quinn: “I was hoping you’d say that!”
If you’ve heard an animated woman or child speak, there’s a very good chance that they were voiced by Tara Strong, our pick for the number one superhero voice actor.
Tara Strong rose to prominence when she voiced Hello Kitty in a cartoon. She branched out from that role into work for Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, as well as video game and anime work.
Raven from Teen Titans is one of Strong’s longest lasting roles. She has played the character on and off since 2003. She’s also a go-to for Batgirl, a recurring voice of Harley Quinn, and overall a popular choice for female superheroes. Between them and being the star of the My Little Pony remake, Tara Strong is set at nerd conventions for life.
She is often typecast as hyperactive and cutesy characters with high voices. She’s also been known to play reserved, brooding characters and children.
Who is your favorite Superhero Voice Actor? Is there someone even better than these? Tell us in the comments. We’ll return to this topic somewhere down the road.
“Tara Strong and Elizabeth Daily” by ewen and donabel is marked with CC BY 2.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
Leave a Reply