This is the latest in a series (of indefinite length and regularity) of blog posts memorializing cancelled toys. Our subject today is Kenner's Total Justice line.
In 1996, Kenner created the first DC Comics toyline since the awful 89/90 ToyBiz abomination. (Technically the line was named "Batman: Total Justice," to appeal to corporate buyers, but no real person ever called it that.) Because the line came out after McFarlane Toys' influence had changed standards in the industry, the figures were larger than Kenner's own Super Powers Collection from a decade prior, and had highly exaggerated sculpts. Each also came with snap-on armor pieces, described by the packaging thusly:
On a distant planet, an evil being known as Darkseid prepares for his invasion and destruction of Earth. Batman learns of this diabolical plan and recruits the world's mightiest super heroes in an all-out assault on Darkseid's forces. Armed with amazing new Fractal Techgear defenses created from a mix of Martian science and Batman's technology, the heroes are ready to fight back with increased powers and automorphing armor that appears when danger arises. Prepared for the ultimate battle, this special team committed to Total Justice soars off to cosmic combat!
The first series featured six figures (five heroes and one villain) plus a single chase variant; the second series dropped that number to four (three heroes and one villain). Series 3 followed suit, but toned down the wild poses and dropped the armor gimmick. Unfortunately the first two series were so over-ordered that no one but KayBee wanted to carry that final assortment. Plans were underway for Series 4, but it was cancelled before Series 3 even shipped.
However, we do know what figures were planned for that series, and they were eventually released.
By 1998, Hasbro had begun closing the Cincinatti-based Kenner and merging all its product lines into the Hasbro name. One of the first DC lines made this way was a set of Total Justice repaints, released exclusively at the Warner Bros. Studio Store, under the "DC Super Heroes" [sic] banner. Apparently they sold well enough that the line was expanded to mass retail the next year, with a series of multi-packs that mixed old sculpts (from several similarly sized lines) with new ones. Two of those sets included the cancelled Total Justice Series 4 figures, Blue Beetle, Dr. Polaris, and new versions of Flash and Green Lantern.
The Flash set also included a pack-in Atom, which may or may not have been a holdover piece.
Hasbro sure knew what they were doing when they paired each of the new characters who had never had a toy before with one of the characters wearing ugly armor no one would ever want to buy.
Going into the new millennium, Hasbro partnered with KayBee and Diamond Distributors to create the JLA: Justice League of America line, which shared the Total Justice style (and reused some of the molds), but focused on then-current looks for the characters, without any silly extras. There were other characters who had been planned for Total Justice, but that was where the idea ended.
