Last week we told you about how the four figures planned for Total Justice Series 4 were eventually released as two-packs. So technically Blue Beetle isn't really a cancelled toy, but there is still something missing: the follow-up lines did away with the "Fractal Tech" armor pieces, meaning you may have been able to buy Blue Beetle, but his armor never existed.
However, in 1997, a company called Landoll's published a series of coloring and activity books featuring the Total Justice branding and characters, and a continuing storyline written by Richie Narvaez. There were four 32-page standard books:
Into the Deep!
Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Flash team up in the ocean depths to take on the sinister Despero!
Mayhem in Metropolis!
When Darkseid invades the City of Tomorrow, the Total Justice team springs into action!Mission to Mars!
The Total Justice team face the power of Darkseid on the Red Planet!The Ultimate Weapon!
Can even the World's Greatest Super Heroes stand against the combined might of Despero and Darkseid?!!
Followed by two 64-page "Super" books:
Against All Odds!
While the Total Justice teams scours the globe, Batman faces the mighty Darkseid - alone!
(untitled)
On land, in the sea or air, even in the far reaches of outer space - the Total Justice team will defend truth, justice, and the American Way against the tyranny of the dark god - Darkseid!
And one 128-page "Jumbo" book, Total Teamwork, which is the most important for our purposes.
The coloring books featured all the characters who got Total Justice toys, plus a handful who didn't. Superman, Batman, and the rest are all drawn wearing their armor, and it looks just like what the toys came with; but what's interesting is the non-toy characters are also wearing armor, and more than that, despite the pages being drawn by at least five different artists, the armor is portrayed consistently throughout. That suggests these characters had model sheets or control art for everybody to work from, which further suggests they were all in some stage of planning for the toyline, a belief bolstered by the fact that one of "new" characters was Blue Beetle:
Here are some other shots of him that better show off what they were going for with the armor and shield:
It's funny to think that Jaime Reyes may not have been the first Blue Beetle to wear high-tech scarab armor!
