Issue(s): West Coast Avengers #30
Cover Date: Mar 88
Title: "None so blind..."
Credits:
Al Milgrom - Writer
Al Milgrom - Penciler
Mike Machlan - Inker
Gregory Wright - Assistant Editor
Mark Gruenwald - Editor

Review/plot:
Al Milgrom is the regular artist on this series. For this issue he takes over the writing chores as well.

We start with Wonder Man visiting the Vision and the Scarlet Witch, and reading the twins the fable of the blind men and the elephant.

On his way home, he's attacked by robot bugs. Don't you just love comics? That's just something that happens, in the Marvel universe. It's barely worth mentioning. Just some robot bugs.

The robots were sent by an alien race called the Sligs, who were intrigued by reports from the Kree and the Skrulls about the prowess of the Avengers. Alien species are a regular occurrence in comics, too!

The rest of the Avengers soon show up to help, and each Avenger in turn is forced to battle an Examiner robot.

In the end, the aliens get an impression of the Avengers that looks just like Combo Man.

Why, it's just like the parable of the blind men and the elephant!

I'd say the divine intervention of Khonshu is the big news here, but this is really just a harmless and cute fill-in. Just your garden variety robot bugs and aliens!

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: For Iron Man, the MCP places this during Iron Man #227, but it seems context free. I've placed it directly before that story.

References:

• Not really a reference, but as James notes in the Comments, we've seen Sligs before in Fantastic Four #209.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I like how on some of those sound effects (CRASSHH! RIIIPP! SHREDD! TEARRR!), Milgrom isn't even trying.

The Sligs aren't actually a new alien race - they'd previously appeared in Fantastic Four #209.

(And were among the alien races in the Handbook Deluxe Edition - one of the few that didn't need to be depicted in a pair of snug black briefs.)

Thanks James. They look a little, ah, different here, but i've added a Reference.

One good project for me to do one day is go through that section in the Handbook and note all the alien race names that were assigned there in the appropriate entries.

Pretty sure Al got that "Compliance!" bit from Flight of the Navigator.

Ha ha. I actually enjoyed that. I thought it was going to be some drab fill-in but it turned out to be pretty cool.

The cover makes it look like they're up against a villain who has their powers.

I was a huge fan of WCA but I remember getting this one and thinking "Well, that had all the subtlety of an anvil to the head."

I've never read this issue, but I've seen the cover here and there, and until now I've always thought the "Composite Avenger" was actually the Super-Adaptoid.