Brandon Routh Talks ‘Arrow,’ Favorite Superhero & His Jason Momoa Connection

Brandon Routh has returned to the superhero world playing Ray Palmer/The Atom on The CW’s “Arrow,” but will his character follow the DC Universe’s storyline, with Ray as one of the good guys?

Brandon stopped by Access Hollywood Live on Monday, where the former big screen Superman opened up about Ray, and whether the new Queen Consolidated CEO will be a friend or foe to The Arrow.

“Mysterious. Let’s go with mysterious,” Brandon told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover, when asked if Ray if “good or bad.” “Ray is new on the scene in Starling City and in the comic book lore… he is a good guy, he is a hero, he’s part of the Justice League of America. But brought into the world of ‘Arrow,’ he may be up to no good.

PHOTOS: Sexy Superheroes

“We don’t know yet,” he continued. “That’s part of the fun of playing this character.”

Fans were shocked at the sudden death of Sara (Caity Lotz) on the Season 3 premiere – she was killed by a mystery archer as Brandon’s character made his “Arrow” debut.

Is Ray somehow connected to Sara’s death?

PHOTOS: ‘Arrow’ Star Stephen Amell

“That’s part of the mystery. This new guy comes into town, is he a part of all this other business that’s happening? That’s one of the big mysteries of the season that will develop and unravel as we go on,” Brandon hinted. “I say there’s a possibility for everything. Ray has big plans.”

The actor, who said his favorite superhero is the Man of Steel, also confessed he wasn’t a big comic book reader as a child.

“I love the movies. I love the escapism quality of it. I didn’t grow up reading comic books – I was into science fiction lore,” he said. “I went more to the fantasy, ‘Lord of the Rings’ type stuff. Since being in this business, I definitely have looked at a lot more comic books and read a lot more… But, it’s what is ‘in,’ and geek and nerd things are becoming cool and more normal, which is awesome because I think it’s great to let everybody have that geek and nerd part of them come out.”

And Brandon, who now has two superhero roles on his resume, has a connection to a newly-cast DC superhero – Jason Momoa, who is rumored to appear as Aquaman in the upcoming “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and then star in a standalone movie.

PHOTOS: ‘Arrow’ Season 3

“Jason and I went to high school together. He was a grade above me, we played soccer together. So I played Superman, and now he’s playing Aquaman,” Brandon said with a laugh, adding that he and the former “Game of Thrones” star were not extremely close, but “friendly.” “We were soccer teammates. We weren’t in the same grade level so we didn’t hang out outside of [school].”

So who was more popular with the high school girls – Brandon or Jason?

“I know I didn’t do well with the ladies, so… I was a bit nerdy,” Brandon said. “I was OK. But I was kind of a mama’s boy – my mom was a teacher… I think everyone was afraid I would tell on them if they were drinking under age or doing whatever, so I didn’t get invited to the parties. But I was in a lot of activities so I had friends at school. “

“Arrow” airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

— Erin O’Sullivan