So things haven't quite worked out every time Brandon Routh has played a superhero. Everyone remembers how his one shot at playing Superman turned out in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. In short; not well at all. He also took on the Italian comic book character Dylan Dog in a rather terrible adaptation that nobody saw anyway. But now it looks like Routh is going to get one more shot at playing a major DC universe character and he's got a much better chance at success this time.
Routh has agreed to join WB's Arrow series, taking on the role of Ray Palmer aka the Atom. In the comics, Palmer is a scientist and superhero with the ability to alter his size to the subatomic level and can also simulate flight. He's also been a member of the Justice League. Here's the description given to the character for Arrow...
"An unparalleled scientist and inventor, Ray will play an unexpected role in the lives of Oliver and Felicity as the new owner of Queen Consolidated. Palmer’s plans for Queen Consolidated’s Applied Sciences Division will be shrouded in mystery."
One of those "unexpected" roles will be as a love interest for Felicity (nooooooo!!!!), which if we're following the previously established pattern means we may be seeing an Atom spinoff series at some point. Certainly casting someone like Routh makes that more possible. His deal is said to run for 14-episodes meaning he will be a major factor in the upcoming season.
Routh joins other newcomers to Arrow, Devon Aoki as Katana, Peter Stormare as Count Vertigo, and Karl Yune. [Deadline]
