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Earlier this week, The Marvel Animation Age got to speak with veteran voice acting talent, Greg Cipes, the voice of Iron Fist/Danny Rand on Disney XD’s Ultimate Spider-Man series. Greg will soon be traveling to San Diego for Comic-Con to promote many of his current and upcoming shows which also includes Nickelodeon’s new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles where Greg will be voicing famed party dude ninja turtle, Michelangelo and also Teen Titans Go! which will see Greg returning as the voice of Beast Boy who he also voiced on Cartoon Network’s original Teen Titans animated show. In this week’s Ultimate Spider-Man set to air on July 8, will be an episode featuring the origin of Danny Rand aka Iron Fist where he has to team up with Spider-Man where the two must face their personal nightmares.

Interview composed by Jeffrey Harris.

Marvel Animation Age: How are you doing today?

Greg Cipes: Man, I feel wonderful. It’s like the great summer of love for me. I found I’m being inspired to love life more than I ever have, and it has everything to do with my work. I love what I do.

MAA: How excited are you to be going to Comic-Con next week with all these shows you’re working on? You’re going to be repping a ton of shows.

GC: I’m very excited. I’m very excited especially for the big Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles thing that’s happening there. I’m actually not even all in the know yet, like they got parties planned and signings and all this stuff. But really just to be there for the fans who are totally into Iron Fist and my other characters from Kick Buttowski and Fish Hooks. I love those shows and hopefully there will be some fans that are like, “Yo! Yo Steve Jackson from Fish Hooks! What up?!” And there always is. It’s cool. And W.I.T.C.H., another Disney show I’m a part of. Nonetheless, I just love going to Comic-Con it’s a great celebration to be a part of.

MAA: You have a big episode coming up on Ultimate Spider-Man. Can you give any insight on what’s happening with Danny Rand aka Iron Fist on July 8?

GC: Well we go into our dream state to confront nightmares. And in the dream state we come across a lot of things that have to do with Iron Fist’s origin story and also K’un L’un, where I’m from. And we meet the dragon who basically I had to defeat to get my powers as Iron Fist. It has everything to do with Iron Fist having a pure heart. That’s why he’s a Zen master because he learned that to be able to defeat the dragon, Shao-Lao the Undying, he has to be pure of heart. We go through our nightmares and we come and we seek help from Doctor Strange. And ultimately that episode was really cool for me because there was a lot of stuff the writers put in there that really resonated with who I am from this reality. Like me and Iron Fist are a lot alike.

MAA: I’ve been a huge fan of Iron Fist for years, so to see him as a regular character in an ongoing series is awesome, and I don’t think we’ve ever seen a motion picture or animated version of Iron Fist’s origin ever before so to me that’s pretty exciting.

GC: Yeah it is exciting. He’s the coolest cat there is man. That’s what’s up with that.

MAA: What did you learn about Iron Fist when you got the role to play the character?

GC: When I first got the role I really did a ton of research on Iron Fist. I just think it’s cool that Iron Fist is also the richest, wealthiest character in the Marvel Universe. That’s what I’ve been told and that’s what I’ve read and to me I think that has a lot to do with – yeah he has Luke Cage/Power Man as his best friend, but it’s like his origin story and where he comes from and who this character is in the Marvel Universe – I think it’s the coolest Marvel character I ever could’ve got and played. It was a great surprise when I got the role because when I got the role they told me it was some other person. It was very secretive. And then they’re like, “You got Iron Fist.” And I was like, “Who is that?” I was like, “Whoa!” And then I researched it, “Like whoa!” *Laughs* It’s really cool man.

MAA: You voiced Beast Boy previously in Teen Titans before you did this show, but were you a big fan of Marvel Comics growing up?

GC: Of course. I grew up with all of the Marvel comic books. My mom would buy them for me. And I got like – I remember the thing I held on, I probably still have it, it was like the super pack of like thirty Marvel comic books in one pack. I don’t know if they still sell stuff like that. Marvel, I grew up with it. I grew up with Spider-Man and it definitely has a lot to do with who I am today being able to step into the role as a superhero and realize seeing it happen. Comic books growing up give you the insight and the dimension of what people really do: fight for good and righteousness and you can’t do that out in the world. And I think that’s why our cartoon, Ultimate Spider-Man, is doing so well because it’s very real. It’s very real. It’s almost reality TV but with superheroes, and I think that’s something pretty awesome. It’s unique and that’s why I like it because it’s very real.

MAA: How often do you get to work and record with your co-stars like Drake Bell as Spider-Man?

GC: Yeah they’re always usually there. Drake Bell and the whole cast. That’s how I prefer it.

MAA: How much does that help having them there and being able to see their reactions and working off their performance?

GC: It has everything to do with it because you can feel their presence in the room. It’s one thing to do it on your own and it’s kind of a different feeling, but it’s always better to have the feeling of the actors in the room. You can feel their energy. You get to work off of each other, and that’s why the show is so fun because we’re having so much fun doing it. We really do. We have a blast. Sometimes it takes us longer to record episodes because we’re having so much fun it takes a long time to record an episode. And the voice director, Collette [Sunderman], she’s like “C’mon! Get it together kids!” But we’re just having a blast. Tom Kenny is coming in or whoever, we have a lot of great guest stars that come in.

MAA: There’s been some negative reactions and feedback toward the show from fans online. Certain fans do seem to unfairly blame this show for the loss of another favorite series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, which was produced by Sony. Have you been aware of any of that negative feedback and do you have any thoughts on it?

GC: All I got to say is that this is Ultimate Spider-Man, dude. We’re doing something that’s never been done with it and that’s why it might disturb people but ultimately it is love. People are digging it. That’s why we’re getting the ratings we’re getting and that’s why kids are enjoying it. It’s because it’s something different. The Spectacular Spider-Man was that. This is something else. As far as – do I hear anything negative? No. I only hear positive stuff. Nobody’s ever given me anything negative about the show other than they love it and they dig it. And they quote Iron Fist which is really cool because his statements are always masters’ distinctions. And that’s really my favorite thing to hear from anybody.

MAA: How excited were you to get the role Michelangelo in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series and was that a role you ever pursued before?

GC: Absolutely. Michelangelo taught me how to meditate and got me into martial arts when I was a kid. I’m a ninja because of Michelangelo in a big way. And for me to offer to the next generation is a great blessing. That’s the thing. I never read for Michelangelo in the past, not one time. But Michelangelo is something I grew up with. It was my number one favorite cartoon, [Teenage Mutant Ninja] Turtles were. So to play him now, it’s just another thing I want to offer to people just like Iron Fist does; a master distinction. And a master distinction is this: You’ll get everything you ever have wanted and you’ll receive it in a way you never could’ve imagined every time. And we all have that ability.

Marvel Animation Age would like to thank Greg Cipes for speaking with us.

Ultimate Spider-Man “Strange” will air on Sunday, July 8, on Disney XD at 11:00AM EST.