I’ve been loving Season 2 of Peacemaker on the 2025 TV schedule, and in Episode 3, showrunner and author James Gunn snuck in an easter egg that felt prefer it was aimed straight at me. You see, Gunn and I’ve one thing in widespread: we each grew up in St. Louis. We additionally each love music and, like Gunn, who’s solely a few decade older than me, I spent a ton of time in file shops after I was a youngster. A type of shops in St. Louis was West Finish Wax. Gunn paid tribute to the long-closed retailer with a delicate nod in Peacemaker’s “finest dimension ever.”
Peacemaker’s Joyful Place
A lot of Season 2 of Peacemaker has taken place in one other universe, which the titular character, performed by John Cena, found in his Quantum Unfolding Chamber. It’s a world the place his father and brother are nonetheless alive, and collectively they’re a group of beloved superheroes. In Episode 3, he reaches out to this universe’s Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), and collectively they exit to seize lunch.
They seize some sizzling canine (with a lot of mustard) and sit down on a bench in a park to speak about how their relationship within the alternate dimension ended. Behind them is a file retailer with the identify clearly seen: West Finish Wax. I nearly jumped off my sofa in pleasure. West Finish Wax! I hadn’t thought concerning the retailer in years, however I spent an excellent chunk of my time (and my cash) searching for CDs there as a youngster.
West Finish Wax Was One Of My Favourite Shops, And Evidently, It Was One Of Gunn’s, Too
I nonetheless bear in mind the day I walked into West Finish Wax within the early ‘90s and found Jane’s Habit’s Nothing Stunning. I used to be intrigued, to say the least, by the album cowl. That was in a time when an album cowl was sufficient to take a danger and spend $12 on a CD. Fortunately, after I acquired house and popped it on, I liked the album. I nonetheless like it at the moment. It’s moments like shopping for a CD on spec that make Gen Xers like me nostalgic for the way in which issues had been (although, to be clear, I a lot favor streaming lately, I’m no Luddite).
It’s simple to think about that Gunn, whose music decisions in his films have develop into legendary, had moments like that in shops throughout St. Louis, like Euclid Information, Classic Vinyl, and West Finish Wax. These first two are nonetheless round, however the third closed a very long time in the past, so it makes excellent sense that it’s the one Gunn would lament when imagining Peacemaker’s pleased place. There’s an excellent likelihood I’d have the identical sort of retailer in my pleased place.
So now, as Season 2 of Peacemaker continues, I’ll be watching with my HBO Max subscription, searching for some other easter eggs from Gunn’s (and my) youth in Peacemaker’s excellent dimension.