Spider-Man. Spider-Man. Does whatever a- NO! ABANDON JOKE! I’ve not sunk that low… yet. *Ahem*
But seriously, we all love Spider-Man. Except when he’s acting all emo and dancing. Or when he switches minds with Doctor Octopus. Or when he stars in an obnoxious cartoons series where Phil Coulson is his high school principal. But those very specific examples aside, we all love Spider-Man. But don’t you think that sometimes the people who play him don’t get enough attention. Oh, I’m not talking about Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield. No, I’m talking about voice actors! A lot of people have been the voice of our favourite web-slinger and we’re here today to count off our top five favourites!
DISCLAIMER! This list is my own personal opinion. And seeing as how I am always right, you should make it you’re opinion too! What’s that? You disagree? There are other choices you think are better? Why don’t you tell me about it as I put this sack over your head and drop you off a bridge?
5. Dan Gilvezan
First up is Dan Gilvezan. And when did he voice Spider-Man? In the 1981 animated series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. This was one of the stranger Spider-Man adaptions. For those of you who don’t know, Spider-Man, Iceman and Firestar (who, much like Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series, was created specifically for the series and was later incorporated into official Marvel comics canon) are all students at ESU who team up to fight evil together. Sounds like an okay premise, right? Did I mention they live together with Aunt May and her dog, Ms Lion? And call themselves the “Spider-Friends”? Yeah… as you might have guessed, this was an attempt to recreate DC’s series, Super Friends. *Shudder*
But how was Dan in the series? Actually, pretty damn good! Most previous voice actors playing Spider-Man never sounded quite right to me. Maybe it was because they all sounded too old to be Spider-Man, who usually ranges from 15 years old to mid 20’s. Dan sounded like Spider-Man should have, a young guy, who attends college. But despite that, he still has a power behind his voice. You can tell right away that he’s a superhero. That said, this was only when he was in costume. As Peter Parker, for some reason, he seemed too old. It’s rather strange. Hence, why he’s so low down on this list.
But was this the only time he would voice Spider-Man? No, sir! Years later, he would lend his voice to Spider-Man 2099 in the video game Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. And… he… was… AWESOME! His voice, while not totally suited to Peter Parker, is ideal for Miguel O’Hara. He is just the right combination of gritty and witty. If they ever come up with a Spider-Man 2099 series (and they’d BETTER!) then Dan should be first choice to be him.
4. Josh Keaton
From possibly too old and gritty to young and full of energy! Josh Keaton has been a frequent flier in the Spider-Man voice over club over the years. Not only has he been the wall crawler six times in television and video games but he’s also been the voice of Harry Osborn more than a few times as well. And he is, I think, the epitome of a more youthful Peter Parker. He has been able to capture the early years of Spider-Man perfectly. Having said that, this voice work can extend to older characters. He’s played both ages of the character and held his own on all counts.
Hell, in 2011 he was the voice of Spidey three times! All of which were video games, namely Marvel vs Capcom 3, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 (yes, I count them as two different games!) and Spider-Man: Edge of Time. An the year before, he was the voice of Ultimate Spider-Man in the aforementioned Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. And do you want to know something? All of the Spider… men in these games sounded different. But in a good way. Edge of Time has a older Spider-Man slant, Shattered Dimensions Spider-Man was definitely a teenager. Oddly enough, this is an actor who has managed to have a kind of range with one single character! All of these characters voices feel like Spider-Man’s voice, just at different points in his life.
And then there was the television series Spectacular Spider-Man. What can I say about that series? Well…. it was perfect. The characters were perfect. The stories were perfect. The voice actors were perfect. It was PERFECT! And then they had to go and cancel it with that abomination of a series with bloody Drake Bell and NAAAAAAARRRGGHHH!!!!!!
Let’s move on, shall we?
3. Rino Romano
From the golden boy to the underdog, Rino Romano is probably the most underrated Spider-Man voice actor ever. He first appeared as the wallcrawler in the… odd series Spider-Man Unlimited. It wasn’t necessarily bad, just a tad off. Basically, Spider-Man gets transported to another dimension… or was it the future? Maybe another planet? I dunno. Anyway, once there he gets embroiled in a war between humans and half human half animal hybrids. You can see why the series was considered odd.
However, this odd little cartoon series lead to him being the voice of Spider-Man in several video games, namely Spider-Man (2000), Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro and X-Men: Mutant Academy 2. So, he’s not done as much as Josh Keaton. But, by gum, does he sound the part. He is able to encapsulate the many aspects of Spider-Man that make him a great character. He’s funny, he’s sarcastic, he’s sad, he’s angry, he’s frustrated, all when he needs to be and still his voice feels like the character throughout. Most of this is best shown in the aforementioned video game, Spider-Man (2000), in which Spider-Man uncovers in a sinister plot to infect all of New York’s citizens with Symbiotes! Spidey’s really put through the ringer in this game, coming across all sorts of villains and obstacles, giving Rino a lot of opportunities to stretch his acting wings, which he does brilliantly.
Which is no surprise, really. Rino has done a lot of voice acting work over the years. He’s been the voice of Kyle Katarn, Luis Sera in Resident Evil 4, James Rutland in Tomb Raider: Legend, Batman in the 2004 series The Batman and the original voice of Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon. I think this guy needs to get more recognition for some really sterling work.
2. Christopher Daniel Barnes
From the underdog to the icon! Christopher Daniel Barnes is probably the most recognisable Spider-Man voice actor ever, having played the character for four long years in the classic 1994 animated series. Just listening to him speak sets the nostalgia gland of every 90’s kid into overdrive. Hell, he has a special place in the pantheon of Spider-Man voice actors as he has voiced him for the longest time, as the 1994 show is the longest running Spider-Man series to date.
But was this series the BEST Spider-Man show? Short answer: no. Long answer: CENSORSHIP! OH DEAR GOD, THE CENSORSHIP! Seriously though, this series was awesome in many respects but terrible in others. One of it’s flaws was the fact that Spider-Man monologues all the time. I mean, he never shut up! But, if you think about it, the fact that he never shut up was a testament to Christopher’s acting abilities. Because no matter how many times Spidey’s inner monologue rambled on and on and on and on, we never got sick of his voice. Sure, I didn’t WANT to have to listen to him constantly, but I COULD have. Easily. In the hands of a lesser actor, this show could have been unbearable. But, in a remarkable twist, he turned one of the show’s greatest weaknesses and turned it into a strength.
And would this be the only time he voiced the wallcrawler? Nope. He returned to the role in Shattered Dimensions as Spider-Man Noir, where he put his monologuing skills to good use as a gritty, noir version of Spider-Man. And it wasn’t long after that when he voiced Spider-Man 2099 in Edge of Time, making him the only Spider-Man voice actor to voice three different versions of him. What a legend!
1. Neil Patrick Harris
That’s right! You heard me! NPH is top of this list! And why does he deserve to be elevated above all other Spider-Man voice actors? Because of his work on Spider-Man: The New Animated Series. What’s that? You haven’t seen that show? SHAME ON YOU! This was a series what was both compelling in story and beautiful in design, second only to Spectacular Spider-Man. And like said show, it was tragically short lived, having only aired for one season. It was a semi continuation of the Sam Rami films, picking up where the first film left off. But despite that, it had a style and feel all it’s own. The animation… oh, the animation. It was CGI rendering that managed to look both simple and stylish. It was produced by Brian Michael Bendis and was meant to be a more mature series that was not intended for little kids. And it worked. It really worked. Words cannot stress how much it worked.
But enough of me gushing, how was Neil as Peter Parker? Flawless. Just flawless. Neil Patrick Harris managed to encapsulate all that is Spider-Man in every single way possible. Part of that is down to the writing, but I honestly believe that had they gotten anybody else, it simply wouldn’t have been as good. He presents Spidey as he should be… a real person who has superpowers. He gets frustrated, he gets conflicted, he gets guilt ridden. Virtually every spectrum of Spider-Man’s personality is presented and shined to perfection. He just draws you in with a kind of easy going charm that makes you emphasise wit him instantly. Put simply, there is not a single moment when he is speaking that you are not entertained. He’s that good. If you haven’t seen this series yet, do so or I will hunt you down and MAKE you watch it!
But what do YOU think? Have we left somebody off this list? Are our choices good ones? Why not let us know in the comments or on Twitter? C’mon, you know you want to!
