Miguel Ferrer’s Many Comic Book Connections From Spider-Man: 2099 to Young Justice and Beyond

Miguel Ferrer passed away today, after a battle with cancer. The prolific actor had been rumored to be sick for the last several months, but kept his health issues largely private.

For fans mourning Ferrer’s loss, there can be some comfort found in an immense body of work, as he performed for years in both live action and animation. Nearly every fan instantly reacting to his death mentioned something else, be it Twin Peaks, RoboCop, Crossing Jordan, his current work on NCIS: LA, or Young Justice.

While you may know him as “that guy from” any number of projects, here are some shows you can watch him in now, and some surprising connections between him and the world of comicbooks as a whole. Honorable mention: as the son of Rosemary Clooney, Ferrer is cousins with a former Batman, George Clooney.

Spider-Man Times Two

Ferrer voiced the character of Silvio “Silvermane” Manfredi in two episodes of The Spectacular Spider-Man, but that’s not his only connection to Spidey. As it turns out, Miguel Ferrer was the source of the name Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of 2099. That was borne out of a friendship between the actor and writer Peter David, who co-created the character.

Men in Black

Ferrer was the voice of “Dr. Lupo” on Men in Black: The Series, in one of his earlier voice acting roles. Many people forget, but Men in Black is in fact a comic book property, though not a superhero one.

Superman: The Animated Series

Ferrer guest-starred three times on Superman: The Animated Series, and while none of those roles led to recurring appearances, he did voice a member of the Justice League on the show! Ferrer was the original voice of Aquaman, who would later appear multiple times on Justice League voiced by Scott Rummel.

The face of Fear

On a 2007 episode of animated series The Batman, Ferrer voiced Sinestro, the head of the yellow lanterns. The character, a former Green Lantern, faces off against Batman, who wields a green lantern ring in it. It’s a great moment, and worth looking up.

Shape-shifting Hunter of Men

In DC: New Frontier, Ferrer took on a heroic role, voicing Martian Manhunter. The movie, based on the seminal graphic novel by Darwyn Cooke, takes place in an earlier age; while as the martian, Ferrer didn’t really speak much, but as detective John Jones he gets to do his best 1940s noir voice, and it’s excellent.

An Immortal Villain

In the fan-favorite series Young Justice, Ferrer played the role of the immortal supervillain Vandal Savage. The villain appeared on 11 episodes of the series, and was a member of “The Light,” a secret society of Supervillains (but not that one). he could have appeared in season three, but sadly, that isn’t meant to be. The third season was only just officially approved and announced for development late last year, and went into development in December.

The VP of the MCU

Ferrer appeared in one live-action comicbook project, as the Vice President of the United States in Iron Man 3. As VP Rodriguez, he betrayed the President, working with AIM to take him out of the picture. Not cool, Mr. VP, not cool.

Back to DC Animation as a Stone Cold Killer

Just announced hours before his passing, Ferrer will voice the role of Deathstroke the Terminator in the animated film Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. The villain plagued the Teen Titans for years, and has also been portrayed on Arrow and the upcoming live-action film The Batman. What was an exciting announcement a few hours ago has now become one of Ferrer’s last roles.