Tonight on Arrow, the rescue of a shrunken-and-missing Ray Palmer is a priority, as he’s been discovered and kidnapped by Damien Darhk, who hopes to take advantage of Palmer’s miniaturization technology for his own ends.
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Palmer, played by Brandon Routh, appeared on the show last season and is set to make the transition from Arrow to the star-powered sequel DC’s Legends of Tomorrow when it launches in 2016.
During New York Comic Con last month, ComicBook.com caught up with Routh to talk about what to expect when Legends gets into gear. You can check out our red carpet interview below.
Did you know when you signed on for Arrow that ultimately you would get to this version of The Atom?
They were a little bit cagey about how the shrinking would work, so I think that was always the hope, but also a concern about the logistics and the effects and making it look real and not cheesy and making it work on a TV budget.
So, yes and no. I had full hope that we would get to that, because that’s who he is. That’s the core of Ray Palmer.
This is an odd question: Who do you think has more fun making you take your shirt off: is it Berlanti or Kevin Biegel?
[Laughs] More fun? Jeez, I don’t know. I mean, it’s the writers, a lot. I think [at] The CW, it’s a prerequisite. So maybe it’s just old hat over there for Greg. But it was very gratuitous with [Enlisted], so maybe it was Kevin.
With Ray, all of your relationships from Arrow are mostly staying there. What’s the relationship you’re really enjoying on Legends of Tomorrow?
Well, I think everybody, but it’s definitely with the Rogues, the villains, that’s most interesting at this point becuase there are fireworks there, right? There’s a contrast and competition. So Snart and Rory and…not so much Sara Lance, although she’s changed from the process of being resurrected, she’s still mostly in control. So mostly with Heat Wave and Captain Cold.
And Martin Stein to a degree, because we’re both science guys so we’re both trying to one-up each other. Like, “How does this time-travel work? Well, I bet it’s this quantum mechanic theory.”
I think I’ve heard you say that your character is like right away, “I dig this idea and I’m on board.” What’s your relationship like with Rip Hunter?
I think he’s the leader. I’m trusting of him. He’s got this fancy technology, he’s seen the future, he’s told us what’s going to happen and recruited his team. So Ray is maybe trusting to a fault sometimes, but Rip is at the beginning the unquestioned leader.
