Category Groot

The Complete History of Groot in the Marvel Comics and MCU

Groot has become one of the most widely recognised characters from the Marvel Universe. The success of the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy movies introduced fans to Groot as a bounty hunter, a Teenager and the immensely popular Baby Groot.

The alien known as Groot is a Flora colossi from the far away Planet X. Unlike others of his kind, Groot preferred to spend his time with the “Maintenance Mammals” of his home planet.

These animals were often treated poorly by Groot’s fellow saplings.

Groot was later banished from his world by the “Arbor Masters.” They chose to banish Groot because he had killed another sapling who had injured a maintenance mammal.

Groot had also freed a human who had been kidnapped and imprisoned for the purposes of scientific research. Groot then went on to explore other planets and galaxies.

The character was created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. He first appeared in the Marvel comic Tales to Astonish #13 (November 1960).

He has evolved from a misunderstood menace to a friendly life form and protector of innocent beings. In his first few comic appearances, he could only utter a few sounds. He was eventually able to say the words “I am Groot.”

Guardians of the Galaxy

As an adult, Groot eventually found himself wandering off into Kree space. He was soon discovered and captured by Kree soldiers.

Groot formed a friendship with fellow prisoner Rocket Raccoon and was added to a strike force led by Star-Lord. The primary objective was to launch an attack on Hala in an effort to defeat the Phalanx.

During the battle, most of Groot’s body was destroyed. A small twig from his body broke off during the conflict, which Rocket rescued and carried with him. Groot can eventually regrow his body to its normal size.

Powers And Abilities

Flora Colossus Physiology:

Groot belongs to an alien race of humanoid trees, and has various abilities that are different from most members of his species.

Regenerative Healing Factor:

He has appeared to have been killed on at least three separate occasions, and has managed to regrow himself from a sprig every time. This could be a key factor in his botanopathy.

Size Addition:

Groot can increase his size very rapidly, seemingly at will. Groot can grow from a small sapling to his normal height, or grow from his normal height into a giant.

Plasticity:

He can also grow and stretch his limbs for different tasks. Groot is usually seen as a tall tree-like humanoid, but he can also twist and bend his roots into just about any size or shape imaginable.

Expanding his limbs to various lengths gives him the appearance of having stretching powers. These powers look somewhat similar to Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. This ability may be due to Groot’s mastery over plants and his ability for cellular regeneration.

Superhuman Strength:

Groot’s hardened body also gives him superhuman strength. He’s able to resist attacks by Armodillo and other villains with strong outer shells or armor.

Superhuman Durability:

His “skin” is composed of wood fibers that are durable enough to withstand most standard weapons. This includes laser beams, gunfire and fire that would normally char or destroy other kinds of wood.

Chlorokinesis:

Groot can control other plant life in addition to his own body. He can use these powers to heal himself, grow his body and convert his limbs into powerful weapons during battle.

Healing Power:

He can also heal others. While the full extent of this capability is not yet known, he was able to heal the being known as the Gardener from poison in mere seconds.

Genius-Level Intellect:

Groot received only the best education from Photonic Knowledge of the Arbor Masters during his time on Planet X. He is reported as being extremely intelligent and has vast knowledge of quasi-dimensional super-positional engineering, according to the Inhuman known as “Maximus the Mad.”

Major Story Arcs

Revival: Versus The Hulk

Groot’s body was picked up by the enigmatic Collector and added to his vast inventory of different species from around the universe.

The Collector revived Groot and was freed along with several other captives during a raid on the Collector’s compound by the Mole Man.

Groot wandered the Earth for a while until he faced off against the Hulk along with several other notable creatures. The Hulk eventually defeated his opponents, and Groot and the others faded away in obscurity for years.

The Howling Commandos

Groot was next seen after being approached by the Howling Commandos. This was a unit of SHIELD that consisted of various monsters.

Groot first attempted to hide, but was apprehended because even though he looked like a tree, he didn’t smell like a normal tree.

He assisted the team on a few missions. Groot was later freed from SHIELD custody and went back to Kree space.

Annihiliation Conquest: Becoming A Guardian

A few years later, Groot started changing his ways. He became a force of good instead of evil. He wound up joining a team of heroes led by Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord.

The group traveled to the planet Hala in an attempt to prevent the Phalanx Covenant from building a mass assimilation weapon.

Groot was blown up during the mission and assumed dead by his teammates. He was pleased by this outcome, and was gladly willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good.

It is later discovered that Groot survived the blast and he rejoined the team.

He existed for a time as two twig-sized perches on his friend Rocket Raccoon. Rocket used Groot’s perches for his weapons.

Groot asked for moisture, to which Rocket replied by spitting on him. This gesture might be seen as rude, but it did help Groot in a small way.

Joining Guardians Of The Galaxy

After reaching his normal size, Groot returned to regular activity on the team. He was used for several suicide missions.

Groot made his way into a Phalanx base and extended his limbs into the base’s command center. He was once again blown up, but this time he took out the Phalanx structure in the process.

Before this mission, Rocket snapped a twig off of Groot in the hopes that he could be regrown. Rocket watered the twig regularly and Groot did regrow over time.

He was back to his old self in time to join Quill’s version of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Most of Groot’s dialogue in the comics is just him saying “I am Groot” repeatedly. This serves as comic effect in many of the group’s adventures.

In Guardians of the Galaxy issue #17 (April 2017), Lord Maximus describes that even though it may seem like Groot is only saying “I am Groot” over and over again, he is really saying much more.

Groot can only say those words because of the condition of his larynx. Maximus said that in order to understand Groot, “you must listen to the sigh of breeze beneath it. The nuance of meaning.”

Groot’s high intelligence is also revealed in this issue. His knowledge of quasi-dimensional engineering allowed him and Maximus to stop the Inhuman city of Attillan from being devoured by the Fault.

The Guardians confronted the Fault after saving Attilan. Adam Warlock found an unused timeline that he overlapped with the current timeline to prevent the Fault from expanding.

However, the timeline he used contained an evil version of himself called the Magus. The Magus soon engaged the Guardians in battle. Groot had one of his arms blown off by the Magus after attacking him.

Several Guardians perished in the battle, including Groot’s friend Mantis. Quill was able to defeat the Magus by turning him back into Adam Warlock, but Adam had no choice but to end his life.

The team won the fight and stopped the Fault from consuming the universe, but their victory came at a price.

The Guardians broke up soon after the battle with the Cancerverse, and Groot returned to Planet X.

There he discovered he was not the true ruler of his home planet. Instead, he was one of its younger members. Groot was later banished to a far away island off the planet.

Planet X

During his exile, Groot was kept under guard by by robotic woodpeckers known as “The Cyborg Punishment Birds.” His good friend Rocket soon came to the rescue.

When the robots realized that they could no longer contain Groot, they brought out one of the most dangerous weapons on Planet X: FLAME. The robots set Groot on fire right before Rocket’s disbelieving eyes.

We later learn that Groot never died during any of his missions with the Guardians, because he became quite skilled at making “cuttings,” or smaller versions of himself that would survive.

Rocket and Groot were later freed from captivity by the Undergrowth Resistance. The group was comprised of several animals, fungi and plants native to Planet X who were trying to regain their rights that had been stifled by the rival Giant Tree Overlords.

Groot had supported the rebels’ cause before he became a Guardian.

After that encounter, Groot traveled with Rocket to his home planet of Halfworld. They soon entered the Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

There, Rocket slowly started to regain his memories of his encounters there. The asylum is then thrown into chaos by Barry Bauman, also known as the Star Thief.

Rocket experiences a holographic hallucination, which Groot helps him break free from. Sensing possible danger, Groot proactively let a cutting of himself go beforehand, just in case.

Groot can use his Dendronic powers to communicate with any kind of tree, including holographic ones.

Groot later germinated an army of wooden clown security guards which he led into battle as they attacked the ship’s support systems. The assault on the ship served as a distraction for Rocket.

Once things calmed down, Rocket decide to try and reform the Guardians, with Groot at his side.

MOJO TV

Not long after leaving Halfworld, Rocket and Groot stopped to check out recent activity by space pirates when they found they were a part of a new intergalactic reality TV project produced by the villain Mojo.

The concept of the show was to use actual crimes for Groot and Rocket to fight.

One of the major differences in Mojo’s show was that if a bystander were to be hit by crossfire, they would die.

Rocket and Groot went to attack Mojo, realizing that if the show got cancelled, they would also perish.

Groot Solo

Groot was later given his own Marvel comic. The book chronicled several of his adventures with his friend Rocket in space as Guardians.

Groot In MCU

Guardians Of The Galaxy

When we first see Groot and Rocket, they are planning to capture Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, to collect the reward offered for him.

Unfortunately, they are captured by members of the Nova Corps and thrown into prison along with Quill, and Gamora, a mercenary who is also the adopted daughter of Thanos.

Rocket, Groot, Quill and Gamora eventually become allies while imprisoned.

Even though Rocket and Groot don’t like Gamora’s arrogant personality, they assist Quill in coming to her aid when she is ambushed by several aliens who have had family members killed by Thanos.

During the battle, the quartet meets Drax the Destroyer. Drax is a fierce warrior whose wife and child were murdered by Ronan the Accuser.

Drax scowled as he recounted how Ronan laughed while slaughtering his family. Gamora quickly admitted that she hated both Thanos and Ronan, and did not consider her adopted father as part of her family.

Drax still tried to attack Gamora after learning about her heritage. He is stopped by Rocket, Groot and Quill.

Peter persuades Drax to join their party as they attempt to break out of prison and battle Ronan. Drax accepted the offer.

Rocket, Groot and Quill struck a deal with Gamora. They agreed to hand over the Orb they were holding to the Collector.

Gamora would then agree to give the trio 90% of the reward. Realising this could fulfill his dream of becoming rich, Rocket quickly agrees to the terms.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

In the popular sequel, Groot remains one of the focal characters. He’s also a primary source of comic relief whenever he’s on screen.

He starts the film as a miniature version of his form in the first movie. He’s referred to as “Baby Groot” by several of his teammates, and is less intelligent in this version of himself.

He’s also less durable in his small stature, and there are several instances where his fellow Guardians get into trouble while trying to defend him.

The movie’s trailers and commercials still portray Groot as one of the main protagonists. There are several scenes of him saying his trademark phrase “I AM GROOT!” during these previews, which make him the main deutragonist on the team.

Infinity War

After the sequel was released, director James Gunn specified the difference between Baby Groot and adult Groot.

He stated that adult Groot perished in the first film, and that Baby Groot was his son. This was the first time that the two versions of Groot were considered different characters.

The new Groot also developed his own distinct personality and memories. He made a smart remark to Quill in a mid-credits scene in the Guardians sequel, which made him appear like a typical Earth teenager.

Groot’s moodiness as a teenager carried through in his appearance in the Avengers:Infinity War movie.

In the beginning of the movie, Groot is shown paying more attention to his video games than his assigned tasks during missions. He chooses to mouth off to his teammates, despite stern warnings from Quill and his friend Rocket.

Groot Merchandise

Following the success of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies Marvel fans have begun adding Groot gifts and merchandise to their collections.

From Groot hot Toys to dancing Baby Groot, you will find the perfect gift for fans of the Flora Colossus from Planet X.

Guardians of the Galaxy Gifts

Find out more about the Guardians of the Galaxy characters from the comics and MCU in our complete guide.

You can also find the best Guardians of the Galaxy Gifts here.

Groot Gifts and Merchandise

Article references:

marvel.fandom.com

comicvine.gamespot.com

Images:

marvel.com