Review of Monster High Scaris City of Frights Deuce Gorgon

PRODUCT DETAILS
Recommended Age:  6+
Additional Information:  Conforms to safety requirements of ASTM F963 (have no idea what that is, but I guess it is to be considered a good thing)
Year Produced:  2012
Company:  Mattel
Made in Indonesia
Height:  13 inches (33 cm)
Hair color:  Er...doesn't have hair.  Head has green scales and snakes in a mohawk style
Eye color:  Green
Skin color:  Caucasian...has some green scales down his left arm
Written on box:  The ghouls from Monster High are haunting the City of Frights for an international fashion competition where the winner will become THE apprentice to the world famous designer Madame Ghostier.  It's the chance of an unlifetime...or is it?  Follow our ghouls above and below the cobblestone streets as they cheer on old friends, make new ones, and discover not everything is always as it screams.
Web sites:  www.monsterhigh.com
UPC: 746775185978
Availability:  Ebay and Amazon.  The price starts at $25.00 and goes up.
Contents:  1 13 inch (33 cm) doll with green sunglasses and earring in left ear, dressed in a sleeveless green shirt with yellow splotches, green and khaki shorts with a diamond design, black shoes with a green design that looks like it was inspired by the Deatheater mark, and a green and black lunchbox.  Unlike some other dolls, this one does not come with a doll stand.
Movement:  Fully articulated, though you have to be careful how you move the body parts.  Head can rotate and nod.  Arms can go up and down, bend at elbow and hands.  Torso does not twist.  Legs go up and down, knees and ankles can bend.  Doll can stand on its own (it doesn't come with a doll stand).  It can sit down too.

I first became aware of Monster High on Youtube.  I had seen the dolls in the stores, but I always thought they were rather cheaply made and couldn't see that anyone would ever pay for something that would probably break when you took it out of the box...not to mention that it seemed to me that many people had too many religious sensitivities to buy their kids "supernatural" dolls.  Though normally I pride myself on my good instinct of what will sell, this was one of my misses (which goes under my prophecy that Microsoft Windows would never make it as a program).

 I believe that the first  Monster High episode I ever saw was New Ghoul at School, which introduced Frankie Stein.  I fell in love with the nerdy zombie Ghoulia Yelps.  Despite my earlier disgust at the shoddy construction of these dolls, suddenly I felt like I wanted them all.  Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one who did...and the prices were going high.  I guess some of my old disgust had remained, because I did some research--which I normally do not do.  My desire for something is usually enough.  As I feared, there were tons of reviews from people who said that though their kids loved the dolls, the limbs did have a tendency to break.  Another problem, particularly with Cleo de Nile, was that the hair also fell out.  In the end, I decided I did not want to spend my money on such a cheaply made product.  Soon after, my interest in Monster High faded, and I was glad I hadn't spent my dollars on what was a short lived fad.

My mom sells the dolls.  It is a good product to sell as far as its marketability.  Each year, they release new editions of the dolls, some of which go with a particular story line (in this case, the City of Frights).  At first, they may not be popular...and some characters are more popular than others.  However, as a general rule, the dolls usually will double in value very quickly. I've been wary of selling them myself, for the same reason why I didn't want to collect them in the end:  their flimsy construction.  This doll is part of my mom's inventory.

I was surprised that Deuce was sturdier than I thought he would be.  However, the guys are meatier than the girls.  The girls definitely look flimsy.  You have to be careful how you move the doll, though he is fully articulated.  Putting too much pressure or moving the limbs too fast may result in them snapping off.  However, Deuce could probably withstand gentle play.  My mom claims that Monster High dolls were originally made to be taken apart so kids could make their own dolls.

At least his clothes were made more reasonably.  They have Velcro.  The only problem is that the hoodie on the sleeveless shirt prevents you from removing it.  Deuce has more development than a Ken doll, though he is handsome in a boy band sort of way.  He has a very well developed butt, and he has flesh colored underwear (plastic formed on his body) with a fly.  I would hate to think of what type of trouble I could have gotten into with dolls like these when I was a kid.

So what is Deuce's story?  He was actually a favorite of mine too, and definitely my favorite guy character of that series.  I haven't watched all of the episodes, so I wiki-ed most of this.

Deuce is the son of Medusa.  He is 16 years old.  He has a pet rat that has two tails, which he named Perseus.  His mother doesn't like the pet, and if you know your Greek mythology...you may understand why she wouldn't approve of the name Perseus.  He apparently doesn't get along with mom.  Like her, he can turn people to stone...though in his case, it is temporary.  Like Cyclops from X-men, his cool sunglasses are protective eye wear to restrain this power.

Deuce is friendly, outgoing, and loves sports.  He lives in New Salem, though most of his family lives on Petros Island.  His aunts love to cook, and it seems Deuce has inherited this passion--though he keeps it a secret.

Deuce with girlfriend Cleo de Nile

Deuce is a devoted boyfriend to Cleo de Nile, even though she is a total b**ch.  I admit, Cleo can be sympathetic and even nice at times...but she can be awful too.  She originally dated Clawd Wolf, who she didn't really love.  When she found out Deuce had feelings for her, she broke up with Clawd and started dating Deuce.  She worries about losing him and can be jealous.  Deuce does attract admirers from the opposite sex, and some have indeed caused problems for him.  However, he has always been true to Cleo.  What is his attraction?  Apparently she inspires him to be a better person.

It is a nice way to introduce kids to Greek mythology.  My knowledge of Medusa, I learned, was based on the movie Clash of the Titans (the original one with Laurence Olivier).  I had heard somewhere that Medusa had been a beautiful priestess of Aphrodite's.  She had made love to her lover in the temple, enraging the goddess, who then turned her into a horrible creature with snakes for hair that turned people to stone with one glance.  In her case, it was permanent.  Her blood was also toxic.

Wikipedia, though, gave a different account.  Medusa was a Gorgon.  She was a monstrous human female with venomous snakes for hair. She could turn people to stone if they looked at her directly.  She was the daughter of Phorcys and his sister Ceto.  She had two sisters, Stheno and Euryale.  Unlike the rest of her family, Medusa was mortal and could be killed.

Ovid gave a different account later.  He claimed she was originally a beautiful maiden with many admirers.  She was raped by Poseidon in the temple of Athena.  Athena was not at all sympathetic, and turned Medusa into a monster with snakes for hair who could turn people to stone with her gaze.

In most versions, Medusa was slewed by Perseus (hence, why she would not approve of her son naming his pet after Perseus).  King Polydectes had sent Perseus to kill Medusa, apparently to get rid of him so he could marry Perseus' mother.  Perseus was able to behead Medusa by looking at her reflection in a shield that Athena had given him, which protected him from being turned into stone.

Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon when she died.  She gave birth to the winged horse Pegasus and a golden giant named Chrysaor.  Many scholars believe that this myth is metaphorical for an actual invasion that had occurred.  Later, Medusa became the poster child for feminists.

Perseus traveled around with Medusa's head.  He used it to rescue his future wife Andromeda.  He eventually returned home in time to save his mom from being forced into marriage with King Polydectes.  The king had never expected Perseus to survive his encounter with Medusa, and inadvertently he gave the lad the means to destroy him.  Perseus used Medusa's head to turn the king into stone, thus finding the solution of getting rid of an unwanted stepfather.  He eventually gave the head to Athena, who put it on her shield.