In a world that involves a comic book-obsessed man, it made sense to throw him and his friends into the world of DC Comics. “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” Season 1 Episode 9 was titled “Spoiler: We Couldn’t Get Green Lantern,” making it clear that they really wanted that superhero to be the main focal point.
In the end, The Flash was the chosen hero, despite having a villain from the Batman stories. Now, co-creator Chuck Lorre has explained what happened. It turns out that the reasoning is pretty simple.
HBO Had ‘Green Lantern’ Coming Up
HBO“Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” had to get permission from DC Comics and Warner Bros. to use the superhero characters, and HBO immediately said no to one. Lorre told TV Guide that HBO was riding on “Lanterns,” the TV series covering the space cop of the universe. With so much money riding on this one show, there was no way HBO wanted to make fun of the character.
“Lanterns” debuted on Aug. 16, 2026, just after “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.” Had the series been planned before the universe-hopping comedy series, things could have been different. However, “The Big Bang Theory” spinoff pivoted to focus on another superhero, The Flash — and not the Barry Allen version that everyone knows from the Arrowverse.
Utilizing the Wrong Villain on ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’
HBOOn top of that, there was the use of Mister Freeze, a villain from the Batman world. Stuart quickly pointed out that if whatever had put them into the comic book world wanted a character with freezing capabilities, Captain Cold would have made more sense, as he is The Flash’s adversary.
This was partly due to the characters DC allowed the series to use, but it was also to showcase Stuart and Denise’s comic book knowledge. This was a chance for Stuart to save the day, pointing out his knowledge of the real cities that the fictional ones are based on and the inconsistencies in the storylines.
Co-creator Bill Prady echoed Lorre’s thoughts, sharing that it was fun to ruin their lives, but to have that “nerd discussion” about the “incorrect villain.”
Could it have been fun to mix up DC and Marvel? Possibly, but that would have meant asking Marvel for usage rights. Lorre did say that Marvel wasn’t being stubborn, but there were other issues that made it a little more difficult. DC has the Warner Bros. connection, and that made that part easier.
‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’ Has One More Episode Left
HBOThe first season is coming to an end. The finale is titled “Spoiler: Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience,” which explains the laughter heard at the end of Episode 9. It’s a nod to traditional sitcoms, such as “The Big Bang Theory,” and it also creates another layer to the universe-hopping that Stuart and co. have been doing.
In some good news, “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” has been renewed for a second season. It means that the group probably won’t find Howard, Leonard, and Sheldon to fix the broken machine, allowing for more jumping through the parallel worlds while dealing with whatever this ball of a threat is all about.
