The Marvels Avengers game has finally dropped for PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One. It's developed by Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics, the companies behind the Final Fantasy and Tomb Raider franchises. It's the first true triple-A studio take on Earth's Mightiest Heroes. During its development reactions and excitement around the game were mixed. Even since the beta and official launch sentiments on the game range from cold to hot. Whatever your thoughts on the game may be, Marvels Avengers' voice cast is top-notch.
One of the biggest complaints from fans concerns the design of the Avengers themselves. With Marvel becoming a household name and the Avengers of the Cinematic Universe so ingrained in our cultural DNA, a lot of fans were upset that the characters in the game did not look like the Hollywood counterparts. There are several reasons the game studios would want to void this. The first being a financial hurdle. With such huge, blockbuster names like Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson, paying for their likeness would be a huge fee. One that would be easily avoidable with new characters. The games are also looking to tell their own story and by using original designs it sets them apart from their movie counterparts.
A Star-Studded Cast
To their credit, the voice actors who star in Marvels Avengers are blockbuster names in their own industry. If you've been playing the game and something sounds familiar about Thor or Black Widow, it's because you've probably heard them before. Here are faces behind Earth's Mightiest Heroes voice cast in the new Marvels Avengers game.
Laura Bailey as Black Widow
Laura Bailey is a legend within the voice acting community. Currently, she's one of the main cast members of the immensely popular live Dungeons and Dragons role-playing show Critical Role. Critical Role is on its second campaign, has been going for over 5 years, and brings in over 50,000 live viewers each week on Twitch. You may also recognize her as the voice of Jaina Proudmoore from World of Warcraft by Blizzard. She also voiced Abby in The Last of Us: Part II starred in Gears 5 as Kait Diaz and overall has nearly 500 credits to her name.
Travis Willingham as Thor
Travis Willingham is also a member of the cast of Critical Role. This isn't the first time he's voiced the God of Thunder either nor is it his first comic book character. He was the voice of Harvey Dent and Two-Face in the Batman: Telltale Series. He voiced Jaro Tapal in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, was a reoccurring voice in 30 episodes of Ben 10, over 80 episodes of Sonic Boom, and has nearly 400 credits to his name on IMDB. His deep booming voice was made for the God of Thunder.
Troy Baker as Bruce Banner
Portraying Bruce Banner the alter ego for the Green Goliath himself, the Hulk, is the legendary Troy Baker. Troy Baker has voiced some of the biggest and most iconic voices in gaming. From Joel in the Last of Us Franchise to Bruce Wayne in the upcoming Gotham Knights game. He played the villain for Hideo Kojima's recent Death Stranding. He's voiced Final Fantasy characters, Metal Gear Solid characters, and has been the voice of more Marvel characters than I can count. His portrayal of Bruce Banner is soft, usually understanding, and very gentle. A stark comparison to his alter ego in the Hulk.
Nolan North as Tony Stark
Another legendary name in the voice acting world, Nolan North as the Iron Man, Tony Stark. He has big shoes to fill for fans who have gotten used to Robert Downey Jr's unique way of speaking as the same character. Nolan is the voice of Nathan Drake, the famous treasure hunter from the Uncharted Series. He's also voiced Connor Kent, Superboy, and Clark Kent as well as many others in over 50 episodes of Young Justice, which means he's no stranger to being a superhero. He's also featured in Netflix's recent retelling of the Voltron series. With over 400 voice acting credits on IMDB, the role of Tony Stark is very safe in his hands.
Jeff Schine as Captain Steve Rogers
Compared to the rest of the Marvels Avengers cast, Jeff Schine is a bit more of a newcomer to the voice acting scene. He has lent his voice to various games in the past few years including Wasteland 3, Disintegration, and Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII Remake as well as Resident Evil 3 from Capcom. His voice acting credits go all the back to 2014 and before that he acted on TV and some movies. While most people would look to Robert Downey Jr as the voice of the Avengers, for me it was always Chris Evans as Captain America. He had a strong kindness to him that I never saw in the comics. Jeff Schine's Captain America has that same quality. A commanding safety to his voice. I have no doubt he'll come to be every bit the Captain America that Evans was on screen.
Sandra Saad as Kamala Khan
And last, but certainly not least, the shining star of Marvels Avengers voice cast, Sandra Saad as Ms. Marvel aka Kamala Khan. Sandra is the newest of the cast to the world of video game voice acting, though she has been lending her voice to projects for a few years now. Some of her notable roles include Nadia from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Pepper Pox, and others from Rage 2 by Bethesda. She also voiced several characters in Fallout 76 and has done some work in movies and TV as well. Kamala is the central focus of the game, every event is shaped through her eyes and she moves the story along. Sandra does an amazing job of capturing every emotion that plays through the young heroine from start to finish. She and Kamala may both be new to the Avengers, but it wouldn't be the same without her.
For more on all things comics, check out our podcast The Other Identity with Robbie Landis and Ben Morse, formerly of Marvel.