SmackDown!

I've had playful, theoretical Medusa vs. Cyclops challenges in the past but never the cage fight, badass, WWE SmackDown! aesthetic of the images Oni put together this year.

And bless the children.  The more graphic the art, the more invested they become.

This year we posed the above question in two different forums. First, to our class and then to the school community.

The majority of our first graders held the opinion that the cyclops would win...

" I think the cyclops would will win because he can feel around and if he feels Medusa's hair he can punch her.
That's why I think the cyclops is going to win. "

" I think the cyclops is going to win becasue he would eat Medusa's head off and she would be dead."
(Check out the cool speech bubbles - "Get out of my cave!!!")

Generally their take was Medusa is tiny and cyclops is big.  He could therefore "smash" her.

One girl posed a question I had never considered.  She asked, "What would happen if one of the snakes on Medusa's head looked at her and turned to stone? Would she turn to stone too since it is part of her?" Good question, discuss...

We also put up a SmackDown! bulletin board outside our classroom and invited students, teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, and administrators to vote.  The majority vote school-wide was overwhelmingly in favor of Medusa coming out the victor.  I'd have to agree.  Medusa is much more strategic than the impulsive cyclops.

Below is a cool student tribute to Medusa.