Ray Palmer: Why the Arrowverse Hero was More than a Man in A Suit
By Louis Skye
Villain to Hero
In 2014, Routh was back in the superhero saddle, joining Arrow as Ray Palmer, the new CEO of Queen Consolidated, formerly run by Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), before he went bankrupt.
On Arrow, Ray Palmer was primarily a pseudo-villain — he didn’t believe the Arrow was doing any good for Starling City. In some ways, he was right — this was back when Arrow was still in his murderous phase, killing villains instead of sending them off to jail.
But Ray Palmer was also an antagonist in a few other ways. Not only did he buy up Queen Consolidated, but he renamed it Palmer Tech. His sway over city officials was so strong that he convinced them to change the name of the entire city — from Starling City to Star City.
And there was yet another reason why Ray Palmer wasn’t in Oliver Queen’s good books — he had his eye on Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), Oliver Queen’s former secretary, partner, and Team Arrow’s tech genius.
Despite Queen’s jealousy, Ray and Felicity made a good pair. They both had an interest in tech and wanted the best for the city.
Ray also had a dark past, with his former fiancée having been killed during an attack on Star City that was directly tied to the Green Arrow’s actions, which explained his dislike for the hero.
Ray Palmer and Smoak eventually became a couple and got engaged, but an accident with the Atom super-suit left Ray for dead.
Later, Arrow revealed that the Atom suit had actually saved his life, and Ray returned from the dead, as many characters have done in the Arrowverse.
The newly-revived Ray Palmer was a more light-hearted character. He was quick to joke and see the lighter side of matters.
During a crossover on The Flash, Routh portrayed The Atom as a fun-loving and adorkable character. The chemistry he shared with Carlos Valdes’ Cisco Ramon had serious potential but was barely explored on the Arrowverse.
However, it did showcase the kind of team player that The Atom would eventually become when he joined the Legends of Tomorrow.