Lanterns episode 2 has a deep-cut Alan Moore tribute that you almost certainly missed.

In the episode, John Stewart is tasked with heading back to Hal Jordan’s place to retrieve the lantern needed to charge the Power Ring. Upon reaching Hal’s vault, he calls up his reluctant mentor for the voice code needed to unlock it. The passphrase? “Mogo doesn’t socialize.”

As pointed out by the perfectly-named Mr. Know it All on Twitter, that’s actually a reference to a story in 1985’s Green Lantern #188.

‘Mogo Doesn’t Socialize’ revolves around Bolphunga the Unrelenting attempting to defeat the universe’s most powerful warriors. After being told he can never defeat Mogo, he goes in search of the Lantern – only to discover he is, in fact, a sentient planet.

Lanterns co-creator Damon Lindelof has previous history with the infamously cantankerous Moore, writing a sequel to the Watchmen graphic novel for HBO.

That even included the – fairly excruciating – act of Lindelof penning a letter to Moore before the project aired.

Responding in an interview with GQ, Moore said, “It went on through a lot of, what seemed to me to be, neurotic rambling… I got back with a very abrupt and probably hostile reply telling him that I’d thought that Warner Bros. were aware that they, nor any of their employees, shouldn’t contact me again for any reason.”

Moore added, “I explained that I had disowned the work in question, and partly that was because the film industry and the comics industry seemed to have created things that had nothing to do with my work, but which would be associated with it in the public mind. I said, ‘Look, this is embarrassing to me. I don’t want anything to do with you or your show. Please don’t bother me again.”

Lanterns is now airing on HBO and HBO Max. For what that means where you live, head on over to the Lanterns release schedule.

We also have a list of suspects for who killed Hal Jordan, if you fancy some sleuthing.