# Ray Palmer (Arrowverse)

Dr. Raymond Carson "Ray" Palmer, also known by his superhero alias The Atom, is a fictional character in The CW's Arrowverse, where he is portrayed by Brandon Routh. The character first appeared in 2014 in "The Calm", an episode of the television series Arrow. Ray is based on the DC Comics character that was created by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson,
This version of The Atom has also appeared in the live-action series The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl and Batwoman, and the animated web series Vixen. He is one of many characters who was moved from other Arrowverse shows to Legends of Tomorrow. In Arrow, Ray works with Oliver Queen and is later recruited by Rip Hunter to save the timeline.
In season 5 of Legends of Tomorrow, Ray decides to leave the team and live a normal life with Nora Darhk.

## Fictional character biography
### Early life

Ray was born in 1981 in Ivy Town. Ray had a lonely childhood and was inspired to become an engineer and inventor after watching the film Star Wars (1977) as a child. During his university years, Ray was a student of Professor Martin Stein and was top of his class. Sometime prior to early 2014, Ray became engaged to Anna Loring. While in Starling City, both Ray and Anna were caught in the crossfire of Slade Wilson's siege on the city, resulting Anna's death. Ray promised to avenge her death by finding a way to save his city from similar danger.

### Becoming The Atom

In late 2014, Ray meets Felicity Smoak and becomes interested in her. Sometime later, he visits Queen Consolidated and meets with its CEO Oliver Queen about purchasing the company. Ray became its CEO and renames the company "Palmer Tech", aiming to providing free energy to the city. He also buys Tech Village stores, were Felicity worked, and offers her a job which she declines. At some point, Ray announces he will give half of his fortune to benefit Starling City to become Star City. Simon Lacroix / Komodo attacks the event but the Arrow saves them. The same day, Felicity accepts his job offer and becomes Vice President of Palmer Technologies. Ray uses the company's information and science to design the A.T.O.M. Exosuit. Ray meets with Felicity and asks her about the progress of the exoskeleton's chip but she says the ATOM would not bring back Anna, angering him. During an emergency meeting with the Mayor, a gang attacks the building, and Ray saves Felicity and himself. After some time, he and Felicity begin dating and he completes the suit.
Felicity takes Ray as a guest to John Diggle's and Lyla Michaels's wedding, where Ray, a licensed minister, officiates their marriage. When the Arrow appeares to go on a murdering spree, Ray supports the apprehension of the vigilante. One night while flying, Ray sees Arrow standing over dead bodies in a warehouse and uses facial recognition to discover the Arrow is Oliver Queen. After telling Felicity of the suit's completion and his knowledge about Oliver, Felicity tries to tell him Oliver is being framed but he does not trust her. Ray goes to the city's Assistant District Attorney Laurel Lance, who does not help him but gives up her secret identinty, Black Canary. He fakes a 9-1-1 call to attract Arrow and Roy Harper / Arsenal on a rooftop. Ray fights the pair using his ATOM suit. Ray loses but Oliver spares him and promotes him to call Mayor Celia Castle and Police Captain Quentin Lance to inform them Arrow is not a threat, and then an Arrow-impersonator attacks them, killing the Mayor. Ray saves Felicity from being shot but is shot himself. He is rushed to the hospital, where he uses his nano-tech to save himself.
To improve the A.T.O.M. exosuit, Ray and Felicity travel to Central City, to seek assistance from S.T.A.R. Labs and Barry Allen / The Flash. As Team Flash helps him improve the suit, Ray develops a rapport with Cisco Ramon. That night, he and Felicity call Iris West and her boyfriend Eddie Thawne on a double date but Iris' frustration with Eddie's secret knowledge of Barry's secret identity ruin the evening. The next day, a metahuman named Brie Larvan attacks Tina McGee and the heroes save her.
Back in Starling City, Ray stops dating with Felicity and joins Team Arrow. Oliver asks Ray for help to capture a metahuman named Jake Simmons. Ray cannot stop the villain and Oliver criticizes him for not taking things seriously. They eventually defeat Jake, and Ray mmets with Cisco to talk about the metahuman, discovering he was not in Central City during the particle accelerator explosion, so he obtained his powers elsewhere. During the League of Assassins bio-terrorism attack on Starling City, he and Felicity contain the virus. The next day, Ray implants his nano-tech into his suit, which allows it to miniaturize selected targets and reduce the scale of the suit itself. This causes this office to explode and Ray is presumed dead. Starling City is renamed as Star City in honor of his heroism and vision.

### Captured by H.I.V.E.

Six months later, Felicity discovers Ray is a live and has been captured by Damien Darhk. He is rescued by Team Arrow and names Felicity as the new CEO of Palmer Technologies.

### Joining the Legends

In January 2016, Ray helps Oliver with a mission to stop several H.I.V.E. assassins. After defeating them, he is intercepted by Rip Hunter. The former Time Master presents a proposal to form a team to eliminate Vandal Savage, a future dictator and immortal, before he can rise to power. Oliver advises Ray him to join the team. The other members are Sara Lance / White Canary, Carter Hall / Hawkman, Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl, Leonard Snart / Captain Cold, Mick Rory / Heat Wave, Martin Stein and Jefferson Jackson. Ray and the others arrive at their timeship, the Waverider, which takes them to 1975 in St. Roch, Louisiana. They met and retrieve from Dr. Aldus Boardman information about Savage. On their way back to the ship, they are attacked by a time-traveling mercenary called Chronos and escape. Rip tells them he wants to stop Savage, who killed Rip's family, which angers Ray but he decides to stay on the team. Next, the team go to Norway, where Savage is holding a black-market auction of a nuclear bomb.
The team fights and defeats Savage's men but fails to capture Savage. Ray leaves a piece of his suit behind, changing history. The team goes to retrieve a device to locate the piece, created by a young Martin Stein in 1975. Ray, Leonard and Mick steal the Amon Dagger, the only weapon that can kill the two Thanagarians but are captured by Savage. The team saves them but Savage kills Carter. Ray later helps remove pieces of the dagger from Kendra's organism. The Legends go to the Pentagon in 1986, to steal a file that will tell them Savage's whereabouts. They find he was in the Soviet Union, trying to create his own Firestorm, using the ATOM's technology. They stop him but Chronos attacks Waverider, throwing them into another universe in the year 2046. There, they meet with John Diggle, Jr / Connor Hawke / Green Arrow and help him defeat Grant Wilson / Deathstroke. Following their victory, he asks Kendra out but she refuses.
Sometime later, time pirates attack the Waverider. Ray goes to fix the damaged ship and has a cardiac arrest, and Kendra performs CPR and revives him. The team defeats the pirates and places Mick in a containment cell. Kendra kisses Ray, revealing her feelings for him. With the team reorganized, they go to Harmony Falls, Oregon, in 1958, were Savage is living under the alias "Gail" and does not recognize Kendra. Ray and Kendra act married and steal the dagger. As Savage and his people-turned-monsters attack the team, they are able to push them back and cure the people but Savage escapes. Chronos attacks as they are about to leave with the Waverider, forcing it to depart without ray, Kendra and Sara. Because of damage to the ship, they are stuck in the past for two years. Ray becomes a college professor, instructing students such as Bill Gates Sr. Ray and Kendra start a relationship while working on a time beacon to attract the ship's attention. As he is about to propose with an engagement ring, the ship arrives and saved them. Kendra is overjoyed to be rescued and is eager to resume her old life, but Ray is hurt by what he perceives as a disregard of their relationship. He reluctantly gathers some possessions from their home and rejoins the team.
The team picks up Sara, who had joined the League of Assassins, under Ra's al Ghul. There, Chronos attacks, but is defeated and captured, revealing himself to be Mick Rory. The team goes to the year 2147, in the country of Kasnia, to stop Savage from rising to power. In the future, Ray finds his suit display and a woman he believes is a descendant of his, Dr. Bryce, but she is actually his brother's descendant. The team fails in its mission and attracts the attention of the Time Masters, who send their assassins after them. The team hide in the year of 1871, in the town Salvation, in the Old West, where they meet with Jonah Hex. Hex tells them he knew of the existence of time travelers, and asks for help to defeat a gang that was terrorising the city. The team do not agree, with Ray being the only one to take action, but as they show his bravery they join him and stop them. The assassins arrive and the two sides fight, and the Legends win. With the assassins defeated, the Time Masters order The Pilgrim, an elite hunter, to initiate Omega Protocol, a process in which she will kill a past version of the offender, thus erasing them from existence. After Ray is wounded, he proposes to Kendra and she accepted. The team defeats the Pilgrim.
Rip decides to take the team to 2166 during the reign of Savage to stop him from killing his family. There, a giant robot called Leviathan attacks them and Ray becomes as tall as the robot, destroying it. Ray discovers the robot's technology is from the future. Rip wants to take Savage to the Time Masters for illegal time travel. The Waverider takes them to the Vanishing Point, the headquarters of the Masters, where they find the Time Masters are aiding Savage, while revealing they do not have free will. The team destroys the Vanishing Point and Leonard sacrifices himself, gaining back their free will. After the event, Rip returns the members of the team to 2016, five months after he recruited them. Ray feels guilty about Kendra's capture and, along with Mick and Stein, creates a time beacon to summoned the Waverider. Then, they go to Saint-Lô, France, in 1944, and rescue Kendra. Afterwards, they go to 1958 and killed the past-Savage, and then in 2021 to kill future-Savage, stopping him and his plan for good. As they are about to leave with the Waverider, a future Waverider appears and Rex Tyler warns them not to leave.

### Defeating the Legion of Doom

Ray and the team had numerous missions, such as protecting the King of France Louis XIII, in 1637. During a mission in New York City of 1942, they try stopping a nuclear bomb from being thrown by a Nazi submarine to destroy the city by Damien Darhk. As the bomb is thrown, Rip puts the Waverider in front of it and activates the "Time Scatter", sending every member of the team into a random time period. Ray is sent to 70 million BC. He spent six months, until he is rescued by Nate Heywood and Mick Rory / Heat Wave. After all of the Legends are back on the Waverider, they return to 1942, to investigate but are confronted by the Justice Society of America (JSA). The JSA easily defeats the Legends and has them jailed at their headquarters. The Legends are released but Nate discovers the JSA will die on their next mission. The Legends stop the Nazis from killing the JSA, and leave 1942.
Amaya Jiwe / Vixen attacks the team, wanting to kill Mick for believing he killed Rex Tyler, but stopped her. Sara asks Ray to train Nate because he has developed superpowers. As they train, they open a hole in the ship and arrive in Feudal Japan. Ray loses his ATOM suit and is taken by Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. Ray is forced to destroy the suit and is saved by the team. The Legends receive a call from a time traveler who crashed in the 1860s during the American Civil War, where a zombie virus is spreading. Ray and Martin develop a cure. When Gideon informs the team of an aberration in 1987 at the White House, they go there and find Darhk. Security arrives and Ray uses Leonard Snart's cold gun to fight them. The team leaves but when a younger version of Martin is stabbed, they rush him to the Waverider, saving him. Ray and the team found out Darhk wants to kill U.S. President Ronald Reagan and the Soviet delegation, triggering a war using a bomb. Ray freezes the bomb with his gun and the Legends leave. Then the team travel to the Old West to stop another aberration. Working with Jonah Hex they fix it, and Ray takes some dwarf star alloy and remakes his ATOM suit.
Barry calls the team to help with the threat of an invasion by the Dominators. Ray and the Legends join a team of heroes, such as Team Flash, Team Arrow and Kara Danvers / Supergirl from Earth-38. When Barry tells the heroes he changed the timeline, Ray is angry at him but forgives him. When he is captured by aliens, Ray is placed in a fantasy reality, where he is friends with the Queen family, and in invited to Oliver's wedding to Laurel. Ray meets Sara and seems to begin to remember being teammates aboard the Waverider. They escape and joins the other heroes, and defeat the Dominators.
Waverider detects an aberration in 1927, Chicago, where Al Capone is working with Darhk and Malcolm Merlyn. They capture Sara and Martin, but Ray saves them. They return to the Waverider but it is revealed Martin is Eobard Thawne / Reverse Flash, who stole a part of a medallion that is able to locate the Spear of Destiny, in disguise. When they find signs the Legion was in 1967 Los Angeles, they go to find Rip Hunter, who is using the name Phil and is working as a filmmaker. When the Legion attacks, they kidnap Rip to extract information about the Spear. Gideon alerts the team George Washington was killed before he could cross the Delaware River in 1776. The team prevent the assassination and find a brainwashed Rip working for the Legion, but he escapes. Gideon, using an algorithm to locate a piece of the Spear, finds it in the year 3000 but when the team arrives, the spear has already been stolen by Rip, who has murdered Doctor Mid-Nite. Shortly afterward, Gideon locates another spear fragment in 507 A.D. in Great Britain.
There, Ray meets with King Arthur and Courtney Whitmore / Stargirl / Merlin. Darhk is seeking the piece, and Ray fights and defeats him in a sword dual, while also capturing Rip, reforming him afterwards. Rip tells them the last piece was on April 11, 1970. The Legends travel there and met with Nate's father Henry Heywood, who tells them the piece is part of Neil Armstrong's Moon flag. When the Apollo 13 spacecraft has some issues, Ray goes to the ship and finds Thawne has hijacked it to land on the Moon and take the piece. Ray fights and overpowers him. When the spacecraft lands on the Moon, he takes the piece and leaves. Ray takes Thawne in the Waverider, where they lock him in a cell, but he escapes. Rip tells the team the Legion is operating in the Vanishing Point, and the team obtains the last piece of the Spear. In the Waverider, the pieces forms the Spear, and the team has to destroy it. They go to 1916 during World War I in France to locate the blood of Christ, the only thing that can destroy the Spear. Mick betrays them and joins Thawne, who takes the Spear and creates a new reality.
In the new reality, Ray is a janitor at Thawne-owned S.T.A.R. Labs and has no memory of his past life. One day, Nate and Mick find him and restore his memories. Ray and the others find the last remaining Legends and attack the Legion, but fail to take the Spear. The defeated team return to the moment they lost the Spear to stop Thawne, who follows them and kills Ray. The Legends take the Spear and deactivate it, making it useless. Thawne is killed by a speedster-hunter Hunter Zolomon / Black Flash, erasing Ray's death from history. The team sends Merlyn and Darhk back to the moment they were taken, deleting their memories of the events. After that, they decide to go to Aruba to celebrate but they crash land in Los Angeles of the present, where dinosaurs attack them.

### Defeating Mallus

As the Legends try to figure out how to fix the now disheveled timeline, the Time Bureau intervenes and saves the timeline. The Time Bureau is headed by Rip Hunter, who created it in 2012 to fix anachronisms without the extra damage the team was causing. Rip takes the Waverider and forces the team to retire. Ray decides to settle in Silicon Valley, revealing to the public he was alive. Ray starts working for Upswiped a tech company. He is unhappy to see he was demoted in life. Sometime later, the team is reassembled to take Julius Caesar back to his time, stealing and using the ship. They capture Caesar and send him back to his time, but he steals a Roman history book and conquers the world. The Time Bureau arrives before the Legends can act but fails, and allows Ray and the team to handle it. The team fix history, and allowed them to continue their operations. The team fixes anachronisms, such as in 1870 Wisconsin, 2044 Seattle, and 1988 Ivy Town. In one mission, in London of 1895, they find a cult that aims to resurrect Damien Darhk, headed by his daughter, Nora. They went fix other anachronisms in 1937, Hollywood, and in 1967, Vietnam, caused by Darhk.
Felicity contacts Ray and the other Legends, and asks for their help to repel a Nazi invasion from Earth-X. Ray and other heroes infiltrate an occupied S.T.A.R. Labs, and saved Kara and Felicity from Thawne. During the crisis, Martin Stein is killed. Ray and the other heroes defeat the Nazis. After the battle, Ray and the heroes attend Stein's funeral.
They go to fix an anachronism in North America of 1000. There, they find Dahrk and his daughter, and defeat them. John Constantine joins the team to help Nora, who is possessed by Mallus, but Darhk stops them. Ray finds that Sara Lance is possessed by Mallus, and John performs an exorcism. They find Mallus wants to take all mystical Totems to dominate the world, and Darhk is helping him and has already taken the Fire Totem. Ray and the team go to The Bahamas in 1717, where Blackbeard has the Earth Totem. The Darhks appear and Nora becoming ill when she touches the Totem. The team leave with the Earth Totem but lose the Spirit one.
Ray feels Nora will die and goes back in time before their battle to save her but is knocked out by Nora, who kidnaps him, although he manages to inform the team. Ray is forced to repair the Fire Totem, but to do so they go to 1962 in West Berlin to achieve cold fusion. When they find the scientist who created it, a past version of Darhk appears and tries to kill the scientist, but they escape. Ray escapes and is saved by Wally West / Kid Flash, stealing the Fire Totem. The team then go to Memphis of 1954 to fix an anachronism, finding the Death Totem. Rip alerts the team Gorilla Grodd, sent by Darhk, is going to kill Barack Obama in 1979. Ray and the team encounter Darhk, who asks them for help save Nora from Mallus and gives them the Water Totem. The team and Darhk arrive in Zambesi Village of 1998, where the team uses the Totems, combining their powers into a giant Beebo, defeating Mallus in his true form, with Rip and Darhk sacrificing themselves. After the battle, John tells them a new danger that were released from Mallus's realm throughout time is looming.

### Defeating Neron

During the next few days, Ray and the team hunt magical fugitives in Woodstock festival of 1969, Salem of 1692, and Maine of 1990. Ray's friend Nate / Steel leaves to work for the Time Bureau. Ray continues his work with the remaining Legends, forming a bond with Charlie. Afterwards, he decides to search for Nora Darhk and finds her in 2018, and takes her to the Waverider to help save a magic-wounded John because she has magical powers. She refuses but Ray persuades her. Nora saves John, and thanks him for seeing the best in her. Ray gives Nora the Time Stone to escape the team but she goes to the Time Bureau, and gives herself in. After the event, they go to Paris of 1920, where Ray and Nora reveal their feelings for each other. The team fights magical fugitives in 1856, Mexico City of 1961, and Washington, D.C. of 1973. They found the mastermind, a demon called Neron, and remove him from a person's body he has possessed, but he possess Ray instead. Neron is about to kill Nate but Ray tells him he can have full control of his body if he lets Nate go. Neron agrees and Ray is sent to Hell to be tortured by Vandal Savage, but the two of them end their rivalry. Eventually, John and Nora find him, and he is returned to the real world in the form of a coin. When Neron breaks his promise not to hurt Nate, John kills Neron by returning Ray to his body. Ray cries over Nate's death but the team bring him back with the help of magical creatures.

### Leaving the Legends

During a trip to William Shakespeare in 1594, Ray realises he and Nora should leave the team to get married and live a peaceful life. An emotional Ray announces to the team their decision to leave the Waverider. Ray and Nora pack their things and leave for 2020.

### Appearances

Brandon Routh has appeared in five of the seven Arrowverse television series, and in one of the two animated series. He first appeared in season 3 of Arrow, in 2014. Routh later appeared in The Flash (2015). Routh joined the main cast of Legends of Tomorrow in 2016. The same year, he appeared in three episodes of the animated show Vixen (2016). Routh later joined other actors in the series Crisis on Infinite Earths, and appeared in Supergirl and Batwoman. Routh voiced Ray Palmer in the video game Lego DC Super-Villains.

## Creation and development
### Casting

On July 7, 2014, Brandon Routh was cast as Atom. Atom was described as "an unparalleled scientist, and inventor, with a go-getter aspect" who would shake Oliver Queen's world. The show's producer Marc Guggenheim said he would be a "sloppy" superhero. Routh said Ray would come "in the middle" of Oliver's and Felicity's relationship, but with no bad intentions. Routh was hesitant to accept the role.
Routh made his debut as Ray Palmer in Arrow season three in a recurring role. The character then appeared in recurring capacity in season four, and guest starring in season one of The Flash. He would later join the main cast of the spin-off series Legends of Tomorrow. Routh had previously portrayed Clark Kent / Superman, in the Superman Returns movie.
In 2015, when Routh was asked how it felt to play another superhero rather than Superman, he said: "It's cool. I was a little wary at first. I never really thought that I'd play another hero in the DC world having played kind of the pinnacle of them all. But it's been a lot of fun bringing Ray to life. The suit is pretty awesome and very different than Superman's suit, so I'm excited ...". He added he had never read any Atom comic books, and was fascinated by the 1980s "Sword of the Atom" comic. When asked about if his Atom character has put Superman in the rear-view mirror, he said: "I don't know if I've put Superman in the rear- view mirror, but to have something else that people know me for is cool". Greg Berlanti, the co-creator of Legends of Tomorrow, had stated the show was supposed to be an Atom-centered spin-off series, with Routh starring in it, because they saw the charisma Routh had brought to the character.

### Characterization

Routh has said his character has anxiety while working with the Legends, and personal issues about his harsh childhood were challenging for him, but also interesting to add more depth to the character. When asked about Ray's love life in the shows, he said Ray never stops believing in love and is always open to it. When Routh was asked about how his friendship with his fellow co-star Nick Zano's character had affected his character, he said it enriched it, while adding his character has good relations with everyone on the show.

### Departure

Routh left Legends of Tomorrow following the season 5 episode "Romeo v Juliet: Dawn of Justness". Routh stated: "nobody, to my knowledge, in the crew wanted to see me go". He said leaving the show was a traumatic experience. Routh returned as Ray for the 100th episode of Legends of Tomorrow. He stated he returned to the show because he did not like his exit and he wanted to show a more mature version of the character.
Routh again returned to the character for The Flash episode "The Man in the Yellow Tie", stating it was easier to return for The Flash rather than Legends of Tomorrow.

## Reception

Brandon Routh's performance as Ray Palmer received critical praise. Writing for ScreenCrush Kevin Fitzpatrick praised the character, writing the showrunners valued "concept over character", and there was an inability to connect Ray's interactions to the other characters, but when he becomes the ATOM, watching him is enjoyable. Others criticized the romance between Ray and Emily Bett Rickards' character Felicity Smoak, saying Ray feels out of place and has no clear purpose.
Some critics noted Ray bears similarities to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's character Tony Stark. Many have liked Brandon Routh's portrayal of the character, and said that whenever he was on screen, the show improved. Ray's humor and presence on the show was praised as adding "weirdness" to his character that matches that of the others characters. With the announcement of Routh's departure from the show, the website ComicBook.com stated it would hurt the fictional team and the show itself.

### Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
| 2019 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actor: Action | Legends of Tomorrow | Won | |