Monster High Retrospective: Wave 2

Since the excitement has died down around the Monster High brand, I figured it would be a good time to go through my collection to see what I had and what I might be missing. Late last year, I started by posting a retrospective video on the Wave 1 Monster High dolls. This post is a look back at 2011’s Wave 2 dolls, which introduced us to two brand new characters, Abbey, Spectra and Toralei!

The Wave 2 dolls are some of my personal favorites. They had great outfits, nicely designed faces and some great purses.

I love the make up on this Frankie! It’s perfect. Her outfit and purse are also super cute. I’d say this Frankie is definitely in my top five of all time favorite Frankie’s.

Clawdeen’s look in wave 2 is literally my favorite of all the Clawdeen’s produced. Her outfit is fierce, but not so far out there that it’s costume’y. Plus, the basic hair style really makes her pretty face stand out. By this release, it looks like they realized she should have clawed fingers. (My Wave 1 and Dawn of the Dance Clawdeen have human hands.)

What I like about Wave 2 Cleo is her color scheme. The introduction of the green works really well with her look. Plus, Cleo’s face is done really well. When they get it right, it’s perfect, when they get it wrong, it’s a mess. In this case, they got it right!

Lagoona’s wave 2 doll had a bit of a misstep in the outfit department, in my opinion. The asymmetry of her jumpsuit just doesn’t float my boat. The best thing about this release is probably the molding of her hand, which is pretty well done! Besides that, this is probably the most lackluster of the dolls.

Abbey is my favorite of the cartoon characters, even though her doll releases were hit or miss. Wave 2 Abbey is my favorite of the Abbey’s produced throughout the years. She’s pretty, but still has some edge.

Spectra was introduced in 2011 with wave 2, as well. I’ve always been a fan of Spectra’s cool see-through limbs. Her stark white skin makes her angular face stand out a lot, but I like that.

According to the site I used to check who went in what line, Toralei technically was considered wave 3, but, as she was released in the second year, I tossed her in with this collection. I think Mattel did a good job of capturing Toralei’s spirit in this release.