TV Version Flash Prototype

One of the stranger prototypes to appear, this sculpt was done in the early 1990s as a potential release to tie in with the Flash TV show starring John Wesley Shipp. Much like the Dark Knight series that was very successful at the time, this sculpt is a retooled Super Powers figure (or figures, as the case may be). It appears that the legs,torso, and head are retooled form the original Flash figure, with the arms from a Cyclotron or Red Tornado figure. What is most interesting is that they kept the knee articulation, even though it was dropped from the Dark Knight line to keep the price point down. Unlike Kenner/Hasbro's usual process, this figure was sculpted as a "two-up", meaning double the size of the final production piece. This sample is about 10 inches tall (shown below next to a Waterworld figure for scale).

Why wasn't this figure released? There are two theories as to that. One theory is that it was made strictly to help win Kenner the license for DC toys from Toy Biz, who had released their own version of the TC Flash (which consisted of new packaging and a "turbo platform" only). Once the license was won, plans were scrapped. The second theory is that by the time development was finished for this figure, the show had already been canceled after only one short season. Only time will tell if this or any other such prototypes will surface again.