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Critical Role fans know Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham as some of their favorite citizens of far-off Exandria, such as Jester Lavorre and Grog Strongjaw, respectively. However, outside of the TTRPG liveplay series that's made them household names, Bailey and Willingham are also responsible for bringing to life some beloved characters from the Marvel and DC universes. And at a recent convention appearance, the real-life married couple gave fans a window into how they approached that daunting task.

That convention, specifically, was GalaxyCon San Jose 2025, where the pair appeared for a Critical Role-focused panel on the Main Stage. However, with so many voice acting credits to their names, Bailey and Willingham were of course asked fan questions about their time as comicdom's biggest names.

"I have a question for Laura about Mary Jane," said one attending fan, speaking of Bailey's role as Mary Jane Watson in the Insomniac Spider-Man video game series, "What do you think makes your portrayal really different?"

"I think my portrayal of Mary Jane came from the writing for this Mary Jane," Bailey responded, "I think [the Insomniac writers] really embraced her as her own hero in this storyline, and I loved what they did with it. I loved that they made her so powerful and so competent, and I know a lot of other stories do that, but it felt really good to stand on my own."

"I know some people had like different opinions about the story," Bailey continued, "The parts where you played as MJ. I think they really fixed it in the second one. You feel powerful with those weapons; I thought it was wonderful. I'm so in love with Insomniac and I think they do an amazing job and they really take care with every single scene that they do, and every character that they create. They want it to be as three-dimensional and multifaceted as possible and I love working with them."

Across the multiversal street, as it were, Willingham is known for bringing DC's flagship hero, Superman, to life in a number of projects, most notably The Battle of the Supersons and (if you're a real one) some of the LEGO DC projects.

"He's been my favorite superhero for my entire life," Willingham said of Clark Kent, "And it was always a goal to try and see if [voicing a Superman character] would ever be a possibility. Whether I was a villain in a Superman property or actually getting to put the cape on, so to speak, those are always the sessions that I'm the most nervous in, because you want to do a good job."

"That character represented so much to me as a kid that you can't help but think, 'Hopefully I'm giving a performance or doing something that means something to someone else that's watching it for the first time. That's an amazing, cyclical journey."

From the lands of Exandria to your very own smartscreens, Popverse has everything you need to know about the TTRPG phenomenon that is Critical Role. Here you'll find:

• Popverse's Critical Role watch order
• An interview with GM Brennan Lee Mulligan
• The cast's appearance at C2E2 '25

...and more. Roll initiative, player. Adventure awaits.