An incredibly sad week full of heavy losses continues, as veteran voice actor and X-Men: The Animated Series star Norm Spencer has passed away at the age of 62. Known to longtime X-Men fans for voicing Cyclops (a.k.a. Scott Summers) on the beloved animated series, Spencer’s cause of death has not yet been made clear.. Word of his passing comes from his former co-star Cal Dodd — the voice of Wolverine — in a statement posted to his official Twitter account.
“Lost my dear friend and cohort Norm Spencer,” Dodd said in the tweet. “What a sad day. Norm was the voice of Cyclops on X-Men the animated series. He was a genuine Character and sweetheart. I will miss you Cyc. Sorry about the ‘convertible’ Bub. See ya later my friend.”
Originally premiering on the Fox Kids Network on Oct. 31 in 1992, X-Men: The Animated Series was a bit hit with Marvel fans immediately upon its release. The show followed the adventures of the famous team of Marvel superheroes over the course of five seasons, concluding in 1997. Along with Spencer, the series also featured the voices of Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Lenore Zann (Rogue), George Buza (Beast), Chris Potter (Gambit), Alyson Court (Jubilee), Catherine Disher (Jean Grey), Cedric Smith (Professor X), and Iona Morris & Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm).
In recent years, there has been a growing interest from fans in seeing a new revival of the classic X-Men cartoon. The creative team and many of the other original actors have also expressed their interest in rebooting the show, especially now that the classic episodes are finding new audiences on the Disney+ streaming service. Producer Larry Houston has since said that the team has pitched an X-Men revival to Disney, putting the potential revival into their court. Unfortunately, while many other actors would be happy to return, the loss of Spencer will certainly be noticeable for longtime fans of the show.
In addition to voicing Cyclops on X-Men, Spencer would also voice the role for multiple episodes of Marvel’s Spider-Man cartoon series. He also had a recurring role as Draz the Destroyer on the Silver Surfer animated series. Some of his other notable voice roles include playing Sly Fox on Dumb Bunnies, Hades on Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend, and Billy Blazes on Rescue Heroes. Spencer would also voice Cyclops in several video games, including X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.
Additionally, Spencer appeared in a recurring role on the Canadian children’s show Majority Rules! The series starred Tracy Spiridakos as a 15-year-old who becomes the mayor of her hometown, and Spencer co-starred as a reporter. He also appeared in the Jamie Foxx action movie Bait and had other live-action roles on shows like Forever Knight, Top Cops, and Relic Hunter.
For fans of his work, Spencer will always be remembered for his distinct voice, and although James Marsden would later bring to life a live-action version of the iconic Marvel superhero, many fans still consider Spencer’s animated version to be the ultimate Scott Summers. At this time, we offer our condolences to Spencer’s family and friends. May he rest in peace. This news comes to us from Cal Dodd on Twitter.
Lost my dear friend and cohort Norm Spencer. WHat a sad day. Norm was the voice of Cyclops on X-Men the animated series.He was a genuine Character and sweetheart. I will miss her you Cyc. sorry about the “convertible ” Bub. see ya later my friend.
— Cal Dodd (@realcaldodd) August 31, 2020
