23. The Atom
When Ray Palmer first made his debut on Arrow, he had a lot to prove. The first look at his iconic Atom suit didn’t go down too well with fans due to its extreme departure from its comic book appearance. However, what he may have lacked in appearance, he certainly made up for in character.
After helping Team Arrow during the show’s third season, Ray jumped ship to spin-off DC’s Legends of Tomorrow as he signed up to become a member of Rip Hunter’s time-traveling crew. This gave him much more of an opportunity to shine as he fully embraced the wacky environment and all the shenanigans that came with it, including the fact that his suit provided him with the ability to shrink himself.
What makes Ray such a strong character is his ability to see the best in people. With the biggest heart imaginable, he doesn’t care if you have a villainous father or a grim back story because he is always willing to give you a chance. Undoubtedly the moral compass of the Legends, he often guides the team on how best to approach a mission in order to achieve the least amount of bloodshed, and if anything goes wrong, he will remain heartbroken by it.
From his admirable qualities to his adorkable nerdy behavior, Ray may just be the most relatable superhero on TV, and that makes him one of the finest characters that the universe has ever produced. With the exception of one too many love stories, Ray continues to grow each season and is now one of the stalwarts of the Arrowverse. Not bad for someone that fans once labeled a cheap rip-off of Iron Man.