Toy Review: Fresh Monkey Fiction Naughty or Nice Wave 3: Gorgon

Early this year Fresh Monkey Fiction released the third wave in their "Naughty or Nice" line of Christmas action figures, and in the process added something fans had been hoping for: reindeer (I grabbed a couple of those, myself). In addition to "normal" deer, they also produced a couple variants playing into the "Naughty" side of the line. One, called Rottenhoof, seems to be a companion for Zombie Santa. The other, Gorgon, isn't a deer, at all (or at least its primary head isn't), though it uses the same body. I skipped Rottenhoof due to limited display space but grabbed Gorgon.

In theory, Gorgon is a demonic goat intended as a companion (or, if you shell out an extra $20 for the saddle, a mount) for Krampus. He's also got an alternate decaying reindeer head we'll get to when we talk accessories, but neither relates to why I bought this.

While I don't know for certain where they drew inspiration for this character, there's a great deal of precedence for a Christmas-themed goat. The Yule Goat is a Scandinavian character whose undergone a number of transformations over the years, appearing as anything from a normal goat to a massive straw goat to a variation of Santa Claus. The Yule Goat is the entity at the center of Rare Exports, with the caveat the US release buries this to avoid confusing (or - God forbid - educating) Americans. It's a pity, because the movie makes a lot more sense with that connection.

It's worth noting the straw Yule Goat is often destroyed by arson, giving the character a connection to fire. Again, all this could be coincidence, but this toy really feels like a modern take on the Yule Goat. Whether it's what they intended or not, it netted them at least one sale - I'm a lot more interested in adding Julbocken to my collection than a goat demon (not that the goat demon concept isn't cool, too).

While I didn't feel cheated by the relatively sparce set of accessories accompanying the normal deer, Gorgon offers a great deal more value for your buck. In addition to a repainted harness and halter from the deer release, you get an alternate decayed deer head, a goat halter, and four fiery pieces his feet can snap into, suggesting flames sprout beneath his hooves.

The undead deer head is certainly neat. I'm guessing this is the same sculpt that Rottenhoof comes with repainted to match Gorgon's black hair. The flesh has rotted away around one side of the jaw and eye, which is certainly a fun conceptual image.

In practice, the red paint used for the eye doesn't quite work for me - it just comes  across a little too cartoonish. I think I'd have preferred an empty black socket to the big red circle.

I should also mention I had some minor breakage on the deer halter. It wasn't serious - there's a section on either side where the halter has sculpted plastic rings holding it together. I guess I wasn't being careful enough, because half of one broke. It still holds together fine, but I certainly wouldn't want to risk removing and reattaching it again (not that it matters that much, anyway - I'm displaying the other head). Just be aware these pieces are fragile, and take care when putting them on.

Beyond that, this is essentially a variant of the deer, with the same basic sculpt and articulation. The horns/antlers pop out the same way to put the halters on (or if you want to display these without antlers for some inexplicable reason). The added accessories help justify the price tag ($45, same as the deer), though I already felt like it was a pretty fair price, all things considered.

I knew these fire effects would come in handy one day