The CW's 'Arrow' has gotten even less shy with incorporating major DC characters and memorable genre stars as guest actors in season 3, but bringing in Superman himself? Okay, so the man of steel isn't flying into Starling City any time soon, but 'Superman Returns' star Brandon Routh will at least pop up in a major recurring season 3 role as Ray Palmer, better known as DC superhero The Atom!

Via TVLine, Routh will appear in at least 14 episodes as "unparalleled scientist and inventor" Ray Palmer, playing an unexpected role in the lives of Oliver and (likely love interest) Felicity as the new owner of Queen Consolidated. True to his comic interests, TVline points out that "Palmer’s plans for Queen Consolidated’s Applied Sciences Division will be shrouded in mystery." Cough, shrinking stuff! Cough.

Previously, Routh's character had been speculated to be that of Ted Kord/Blue Beetle, as casting shrouded the character as "Daniel," a handsome, enigmatic and highly intelligent entrepreneur developing groundbreaking technology, who "privately harbors a tragic past that will drive him to become a tech-powered superhero." The CW's DC drama had also previously seen Oliver making reference to a "Ray and Jean" closer to his and Laurel's ages, though season 2 saw Teryl Rothery playing DC comic character Jean Loring as an older woman, despite the character's typical association with Ray Palmer.

In addition to '22 Jump Street' star Peter Stormare's role as a new incarnation of comic supervillain Count Vertigo, the acclaimed DC drama 'Arrow' has most recently added to its third season ‘Real Steel’ star Karl Yune as Oliver’s Hong Kong handler, along with ‘Sin City‘ star Devon Aoki as comic character Katana.

We’ll learn more of ‘Arrow’ season 3 from the massive Comic-Con 2014 panel that also includes spinoff ‘The Flash,’ FOX’s ‘Gotham,’ and NBC’s ‘Constantine,’ but what say you? Does ‘Arrow’ season 3′s super new casting have you excited to meet The Atom in his first live-action portrayal? Tell us what you want to see from ‘Arrow’ season 3 in the comments, and stay tuned for the latest from Comic-Con 2014!

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