NCIS Star Rocky Carroll Has A Fantastic Four Connection Only Marvel Fanatics Know
Rocky Carroll is a major player in the NCIS universe, having played Leon Vance in over 340 entries of the original series and made a number of appearances in the spinoffs "NCIS: Hawaii," "NCIS: Los Angeles," and "NCIS: New Orleans." But the long-running military police procedural is far from the only highlight on his resume. Not only has Carroll been in movies like "Yes Man," "Crimson Tide," and "Born on the Fourth of July," but he also has several voice-over credits. "Gargoyles," "Hercules," "Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?" and several DC animated movies make up his resume, as well as a classic "Fantastic Four" series only hardcore Marvel fans remember.
There have been a number of cartoons chronicling the heroic adventures of the Human Torch, the Thing, Sue Storm, and Reed Richards since 1967, including "Fantastic Four: The Animated Series," which ran from 1994 to 1996, airing two seasons with a total of 26 episodes. The Marvel kids' program features some notable names in the cast, like Brian Austin Green, Lori Alan, Quinton Flynn, and the "NCIS" star.
The show takes advantage of Carroll's vocal talents during a three-part event that introduces the Inhumans. The actor voices the character of Triton in two of the show's top-rated episodes on IMDb, "Inhumans Saga: Part 2: The Inhumans Among Us" and "Inhumans Saga: Part 3: Beware the Hidden Land." While Carroll and Triton's time on the series was brief, it was a bigger deal than most people think, for both the "NCIS" actor and the Marvel character.
Carroll was the first person to play Triton
The character Triton was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in December 1965, making his debut within the pages of "Fantastic Four #45" as a member of the Inhumans. The Inhumans are a subspecies of humans that gain powers and abilities from the Terrigen Mist, a mutation-causing vapor that alters their biology. He has similar characteristics to sea creatures, such as being able to breathe underwater, scaly green skin, webbed toes, and a dorsal fin on his head. In addition to being a fast swimmer, Triton also possesses superhuman strength, next-level reflexes, and aquatic vision.
After making a number of appearances in the comics, the character finally made the jump to the small screen, and Rocky Carroll was the first person to play the aquatic Marvel hero. "Fantastic Four: The Animated Series" introduced Triton to home audiences, and his big TV moment was anything but a dull affair. The Inhuman persona goes up against the Fantastic Four, fights with Reed Richards (Beau Weaver), gets captured by Seeker (Kerrigan Mahan), and almost dies trying to stop Maximus the Mad (Mark Hamill), the evil brother of Black Bolt.
The scene where he is saved thanks to the combined efforts of a forcefield from Sue Storm (Lori Alan) and a rain shower from Crystal (Kathy Ireland), another Inhuman, is arguably one of the many highlights that Triton is part of in the episode. In addition to the writing and animation, Carroll's performance also deserves credit for igniting the character's career outside the comics. But this was just the beginning — more actors have played Triton than many people probably expected.
Triton continues to make waves since Carroll kicked things off
Rocky Carroll has been one of many actors to take on the role of Triton since the "NCIS" star made a splash with the Inhuman in the mid-'90s. In fact, the character actually appears in a later episode of "Fantastic Four: The Animated Series," in "The Sentry Sinister," but this time voiced by Mark Hamill. Triton is also in "Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H." and "Ultimate Spider-Man," where he is voiced by James Arnold Taylor, who is best known for playing Obi-wan Kenobi in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" animated feature and series. Tom Kane, who voices Yoda in the same movie and show, plays the aquatic Inhuman in the video game "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance."
Triton has made his way into the realm of anime as well, in "Marvel Future Avengers," voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas in English and Hiroyuki Yoshino in Japanese. Triton took his talents to live action for the first time in the series "Inhumans," a major Marvel flop from 2017. The character is one of the first on screen in the opening moments, when he narrowly escapes a group of soldiers. He appears in three episodes showing off his aquatic skills and engages in a few brutal fight sequences thanks to the efforts of actor Mike Moh, known for playing Bruce Lee in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."
The Inhuman has been on quite the ride since his run started with the "NCIS" star. It will be exciting to see what the future holds for the character and what other talented individuals make up Triton's legacy outside the comics.