Stuart Bloom

 The Big Bang Theory history

Stuart Bloom owns the Comic Center of Pasadena, the comic book store regularly visited by Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Stuart once hoped to work as an artist before opening the shop.

Stuart was often unlucky in business, romance and life in general. His store struggled financially and later burned down, leaving him without workplace or a place to live. Howard offered Stuart a job caring for his mother, Mrs. Wolowitz, and Stuart moved into her house. After her death, Stuart continued living even after Howard and Bernadette moved in.

Over time, Stuart became closer to the group, first bonding with Raj while Howard was in space and later becoming part of Howard and Bernadette’s household. By the end of The Big Bang Theory, Stuart's rebuilt store was doing better and he had started a relationship with Denise, his assistant manager.

 Stuart Fails to Save the Universe history

When we meet Stuart in 101 “Spoiler: Gary Dies”, he is still running the Comic Center of Pasadena, now in the middle of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the economy reduced to bartering, Stuart trades old comic books for food and treats the strange rifts, violence and destruction around him as part of normal life.

Stuart’s acceptance of this reality is shaken when an alternate version of himself appears through a wormhole and tells him this is not how things are supposed to be. The traveler explains that Sheldon, Leonard and Howard built a vari-state quantum interference device that malfunctioned and changed reality. Although the alternate Stuart disappears before giving full instructions, he sends Stuart on a mission to reach the device at Caltech and set things right.

On the way to Caltech, Stuart and Bert are surprised to find Denise alive and well, mugging people at a marketplace outside the ruined Rose Bowl. Denise had also believed Stuart was dead and is now with Gary, a former Army Special Forces soldier. Denise and Gary eventually join the mission, but Gary is killed almost immediately as they try to enter Caltech. Stuart is hopeful that he and Denise might get back together.

Inside Caltech, Stuart meets a long-imprisoned Raj, who has spent years trying to understand what went wrong with reality and believes he could reset it if he reached the device. The university, however, is now controlled by Barry Kripke, the self-styled Grand Caliph of South Pasadena. After Kripke takes Denise away, Stuart is determined to rescue her and reach the machine. With Bert and Raj, he fights through Caltech using improvised explosives made from materials in Bert’s old geology lab.

Raj is shot by Kripke before he can finish reconfiguring the device, leaving Stuart to follow Raj’s notes with Denise’s help. The machine opens a wormhole, pulling Stuart, Bert and Kripke into another reality while Denise is left behind. Stuart arrives back in the comic book store in an apparently peaceful Pasadena. As they look out the window at ordinary life outside, the camera reveals they all have electronic devices implanted in their necks.

This page has been updated up to episode 101 Spoiler: Gary Dies