(First of all, why you see this instead of my "Avengers Legends: She-Hulk" fancast is easily explained: lack of pics from the original graphic novel itself, other than a few key scenes. For now, it's on hold. Enjoy this instead!)
Thanks to the Avengers movie, the profiles were boosted for characters like Nick Fury, Hawkeye, Thanos (spoiler alert!), and the red-head Russian femme fatale herself, the Black Widow. Recently, it was announced she'd be in a new animated film alongside the Punisher, but to me, there's one Black Widow story that warrants an animated adaptation: 1983's "Web of Intrigue", a four-part tale in Marvel Fanfare #10-13, by writer Ralph Macchio and artist George Perez.
In the story, 'Tasha finds herself roped in by SHIELD into going back into Russia in order to find her former chauffeur--and lifelong father-figure--Ivan Petrovich. This mission sets her against a ring of seven deadly international assassins and their leader--and another Black Widow!
I think this would make a really great animated movie, almost like a "James Bond" film for comics. It's got action, espionage, and a surprise ending, plus it was also one of the Black Widow's best-written stories. So here's how my vision for a direct-to-DVD animated film would look:
-DVD cover art by Daniel Acuna (who did the art for the 2010 "Black Widow: The Name of the Rose" mini), based on the George Perez art for the "Web of Intrigue" hardcover.
-Character designs/art style by Bruce Timm (it seriously would look great for this!)
-Voice direction by Jaime Simone.
-Direction by Lauren Montgomery.
-Music almost like something out of a James Bond film mixed with a 40's/70's noir film.
And now, my fellow fans--my voice cast!
Good Guys
-Rachel Nichols as the voice of the Black Widow/Natasha Romanova
To me, Nichols was one of the few good things about the "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" movie, and I am thinking of checking out that new sci-fi show she's starring in this year. I feel that (especially with a Russian accent) Nichols would be a great voice for our favorite she-spy extraordinaire.
-Erick Avari as the voice of Ivan Petrovich
Avari is a great character actor for mentor-types, and I think his voice (also especially with a Russian accent) would be great for Ivan as a worried father-figure to Natasha.
-Robert Wagner as the voice of Nick Fury
My reasons for using Wagner as Fury remain the same as when I used him for my "Marvel Team-Up Presents: Wolverine" fancast: I seriously think he would have a great voice for the guy, and be able to pull off his trademark cigar-chompin' "charm".
-Stephen Yeun as the voice of Agent Jimmy Woo
Yeun's been dealing with zombies for a while, if The Walking Dead is an indicator, so I thought secret agents would be a good change of pace for him.
Bad Guys
-Rip Taylor as the voice of Damon Dran
Rip Taylor's no stranger to voiceover, and I feel he's got a good voice for this paranoid arms dealer (who turns out to be the one who put the hit out on Natasha in the first place). If some of you don't like this casting, my alternative is Dan Castellaneta doing a Paul Lynde impression.
+Dran's assassins
-Tricia Helfer as the voice of Iron Maiden/Melina Vostokoff
Helfer (once again one who would sound great with a Russian accent) has enough geek-cred to warrant voicing a relatively obscure character such as dear Melina here--she's done so before (Boodikka in Green Lantern: First Flight, Black Cat on Spectacular Spider-Man, etc.).
Kim Mai Guest as the voice of Black Lotus
Kevin Michael Richardson as the voice of N'Kama
*Note--the character design for N'Kama would be depicted wearing pants. Just saying. 'Nuff said.
Maurice LaMarche as the voice of 'Deadshot' (changed to Deadeye to avoid confusion with a character from the "Distinguished Competition") Darrance
Inspired by his voice for Jeremy Hawke on "The Critic".
Grey DeLisle as the voice of Wrangler/Laralie
John DiMaggio as the voice of Kono Sanada
Inspired by his voice for Hak-Foo on "Jackie Chan Adventures".
Zhang Ziyi as the voice of Snapdragon/Sheoke Sanada
I went with Ziyi while inspired by her voicing Karai in the 2007 TMNT movie, in which I thought she did a great job. With Snapdragon here, you have your choice of either her classic look (on the left) or her more modern look from the more recent Moon Knight series. I'll let you decide on this in the comments section.
Anyway, that's a wrap! For taking the time to view this--ladies and gentlemen, TOM JONES: