Second Era: Why Wax and Wayne

[Winter Wolf]

So I noticed that Brandon and many fans refer to the second Mistborn Era as the Wax and Wayne books. Is this just because of the play on words? I ask because when I started the books, I expected them to be the co-leads. But Wax seems to be the main protagonist and Marasi seems to have equal to greater narrative importance as Wayne. 

[Koloss17 She/They]

It says wax and Wayne on the book. That’s mainly whey. There is also a superhero and sidekick dynamic.

[Karger he/him]

42 minutes ago, Winter Wolf said:

So I noticed that Brandon and many fans refer to the second Mistborn Era as the Wax and Wayne books. Is this just because of the play on words? I ask because when I started the books, I expected them to be the co-leads. But Wax seems to be the main protagonist and Marasi seems to have equal to greater narrative importance as Wayne. 

The books actually started staring Wayne but Brandon decided that Wayne would not work without a strait man so Wax was born.  They also work better as the dynamic duo who the books collectively are about. 

[Winter Wolf]

59 minutes ago, Karger said:

The books actually started staring Wayne but Brandon decided that Wayne would not work without a strait man so Wax was born.  They also work better as the dynamic duo who the books collectively are about. 

Ok if Wayne was initially the protagonist before Wax was created, that actually makes sense then. Otherwise, I could see it being referred to as the Wax books vs the Vin books for the first era. 

[Honorless he/him]

Quote

Mike

Where are you going with the lunar allegory of Wax and Wayne?

Brandon Sanderson

There's no moon on Scadrial, and it just cracked me up that they would have these names that were a pun that they wouldn't get. [...] I came up with Wayne's name first and then I needed a name for the straight man he played off of, and the idea of Wax and Wayne amused me. I am easily amused by bad puns, Mike.

Shadows of Self Chicago signing (Oct. 12, 2015)