Of all the people to get screwed by the “failure” of Superman Returns, Brandon Routh was probably the one who took the brunt of it. He did a great job, but his career since has mostly shown casting directors don’t give him enough credit. Fortunately, that may change with Arrow, and his new role on the show.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, he’s going to be shaking things up: He’s the new owner of Queen Consolidated, he’s going to romance Felicity, and, oh, right, he’s also a member of the Justice League:
Ray Palmer is described as an unrivaled scientist and inventor, who will play an unexpected role in Oliver’s and Felicity’s lives as the new Queen Consolidated owner and whose intentions with the company’s Applied Sciences division are a mystery.
We fully expect Ollie to sulk about how Felicity is banging the hot superscientist and not the dissipated rich jerk who spent two solid seasons rejecting her like a bad gift card. Expect this to last for at least fourteen episodes: Routh is signed for the bulk of the season.
Also, he’s the Atom, although whether his shrinking powers will hold in this continuity is anyone’s guess. I have a strong affection for the Atom, but a teeny little Routh jumping up and punching people? That’s going to look just a little stupid. They might as well just put a wig on a little person and have him leap around on a trampoline, which will at least have the virtue of being funny.
There’s also the question of where the other hero in season three, described as a “tech-powered superhero with a tragic past,” fits in. Not least because, man, with this many heroes, is there even going to be any crime in Starling City? Even with its once-yearly near-apocalypses, the muggers are probably weighing getting twenty bucks from a purse versus an arrow to the shoulder and getting a real job.