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During a guest appearance on Simpsons Declassified with Nancy Cartwright, Matt Mercer discussed what Dungeons & Dragons class best fits Bart Simpson, positing that he would be an excellent bard. Cartwright, who voices the mischievous 10-year-old in the long-running series, agreed with the Critical Role star, telling him — in Bart Simpson's voice — that she takes the suggestion as a compliment.
Cartwright's podcast launched in 2025 as an inside look at The Simpsons, and with the intention of being partially fan-influenced. Before Mercer's appearance on the podcast, Cartwright sourced questions from fans, putting out a request on the Critical Role subreddit. Many probably best know Mercer from his long reign as DM in the Dungeons & Dragons web series, but he also has a storied voice acting career, playing roles like Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil 6 and Levi Ackerman in Attack on Titan.
Mercer's logic behind why Bart aligns with the bard class makes perfect sense. It's a charisma-based class, and Bart Simpson is notoriously good at bluffing and pulling off elaborate schemes relying largely on bravado. This is the kid who successfully ran a casino out of his treehouse, bought and ran a factory (until it collapsed), led a coup at Kamp Krusty, and briefly became famous with the cheeky catchphrase, "I didn't do it" — he'd be an absolute natural.
He's also a bona fide expert at insults and ridicule, which absolutely aligns with the bard, a class that can use a spell called Vicious Mockery. Bards of the College of Lore subclass can also use the Cutting Words feature, which allows them to distract and confuse enemies with their words. From the sass of refusing to call his dad anything but "Homer" to his constant prank calls to Moe's Tavern, which essentially serve as a humiliation ritual for the poor bartender, breaking his enemies' spirit through words alone is something Bart Simpson is clearly built for.
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