Ray Palmer: Why the Arrowverse Hero was More than a Man in A Suit

Ray and Nate

One could say that male friendships run the entertainment industry.

Some of the best stories have focused on men fighting for each other and by each other’s side — Kirk and Spock, Butch and Sundance, Frodo and Sam, Captain America and Bucky Barnes — the list is endless and encompasses stories from every era.

But these stories are often more memorable not because these characters fight side by side, but because they display the more human emotion of love.

In superhero properties, platonic love is sometimes left by the wayside to make way for romances with overwhelmingly heterosexual couples.

Legends of Tomorrow chafed against the norm, not just with its romances but also its friendships, best exemplified with Ray and Nate.

Since Nate Heywood joined the show in season 2 as the resident historian, he and Ray seemed destined to be friends.

They shared similar interests and quickly started learning more about each others’ fields of expertise — history, and science.

But it was in season 4 that the close bond between the characters became obvious. With Nate’s father being secretive and potentially collaborating with a villain, it was up to Ray to soothe his friend’s concerns.

By the end of the season, both Nate’s father and Nate were dead. Nate was swiftly resurrected by the power of love, of course—and a beautiful friendship became cemented.

What was surprising about the bond between Nate and Ray was how physically affectionate they were, hugs abounded, but so did the friendly peck on the cheek that we commonly see among women characters, but rarely among men.

The chemistry and the off-screen bond between Routh and Zano powered the on-screen performances, which made Ray’s goodbye particularly emotional, bordering on tragic.

On any other show, the “Romeo and Juliet” theme of Ray’s final episode would have signaled the dawn of a new romance between two characters. And indeed, it may have if we are to read between the lines of Zari (Tala Ashe) and Constantine’s (Matt Ryan) balcony scene. But on Legends of Tomorrow, the epic love story propels Nate to put aside his anger at being left out of Ray’s decision to leave the Waverider so he can give his best friend a proper farewell.

There have been many emotional farewells on Legends of Tomorrow. Firestorm’s demise was probably one of the most distressing in the Arrowverse, but even though nobody died in this episode, saying goodbye to Ray was incredibly challenging for Nate and fans of the show.

Ray Palmer’s departure is a particularly painful pill to swallow. Now more than ever, we need the optimism and hope that Ray embodied.

Although he began as an angry and lost man bent on power, Ray’s steady change into approachable boy scout and loving friend and husband was a delight to watch. The Legends and the Arrowverse have lost a brilliant character.

But for fans, we can always look back at Ray Palmer’s best moments on the show whenever we’re looking for a little hope and a lot of inspiration.