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Groot () is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #13 (November 1960). An extraterrestrial, sentient tree-like creature, the original Groot first appeared as an alien invasion that intended to capture humans for experimentation. The character's speech capability is limited to the phrase "I am Groot", which can have different meanings depending on context. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise, Star-Lord, Thor, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer and, eventually, Nebula, daughter of Thanos are able to understand him.
The character was reintroduced as an heroic, noble being in 2006, and appeared in the crossover comic book storyline . Groot went on to star in its spin-off series, Guardians of the Galaxy, joining the team of the same name.
Groot has been featured in a variety of associated Marvel media, including animation television series, and . Vin Diesel voices Groot in the MCU, starting in the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy, with Krystian Godlewski playing the initial incarnation of the character via performance capture and James Gunn doing so for his reborn offspring, colloquially known as "Baby Groot".
Groot reappeared in 2006 in the six-issue limited series Nick Fury's Howling Commandos and appeared in the and Annihilation: Conquest – Star-Lord limited series. Groot went on to join the Guardians of the Galaxy in the series of the same name and remained a fixture of the title until its cancellation with issue #25 in 2010. Groot appeared in its follow-up, the limited series The Thanos Imperative, and, alongside fellow Guardian Rocket Raccoon, Groot starred in backup features in Annihilators #1–4 (March–June 2011) and Annihilators: Earthfall #1–4 (Sept.–Dec. 2011).
Groot appeared in issues #6–8 of Avengers Assemble as a member of the Guardians. Groot is one of the stars of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, a part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch.
In March 2015, it was announced that Groot would be getting a solo series by writer Jeff Loveness and artist Brian Kesinger.
The Groot who appeared in Tales to Astonish and the one introduced in Annihilation: Conquest were retroactively established as being separate members of the same species in the sixth and final issue of the Groot ongoing series that launched in June 2015. In Infinity Wars, however, Groot specifically references the fact that during his first visit to the planet Earth, he had promised to "march across the surface of the planet and doom all who dared to oppose Groot". This seemingly reverted the character's origins to having both eras of Groot referencing the same persona, therefore invalidating the retroactive change from issue six of the Groot series.
Groot originated from an "Ennobled Sap-line" and was gifted with a tremendous grasp of quasi-dimensional super-positional engineering. Groot did not get along with fellow saplings but instead preferred the company of the "Maintenance Mammals", against which the other saplings discriminated. Groot was exiled by the "Arbor Masters" in Guardians of the Galaxy #14 after killing another sapling to defend a maintenance mammal it was brutalizing.
An alternate origin was presented in the Groot ongoing series. In the story, it is revealed that the other Flora colossi had been abducting organisms from other planets, including a young human girl named Hannah. After seeing Hannah, Groot realized that what his people were doing was wrong and managed to save the child and send her back to Earth. However, for his disobedience, Groot was exiled from Planet X and forced to wander the universe until he met Rocket Raccoon many decades later, where this version of Groot later became a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Xemnu made a duplicate of Groot by making a human and tree hybrid that was used to fight the Hulk, but it was destroyed in the battle.
Groot was later revealed to have survived, but was a captive of the Collector and held in his zoo in Canada until Groot and the other captive creatures were freed by the Mole Man. Groot and the other creatures rampaged in New York City until they were stopped by a band of superheroes, and were then dumped through a portal to the Negative Zone.
Groot was later tracked down and captured by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Paranormal Containment Unit, nicknamed the Howling Commandos, when his tree scent was detected by Sasquatch and Abominable Snowman. While Groot was being held captive, Gorilla-Man talked to Groot about joining the Howling Commandos. When Merlin and his forces attacked the base, the Howling Commandos let Groot and their other captives free, who proceeded to stampede on Merlin's army; Groot was the only one to turn back, offering to join the Howling Commandos. Groot aided the Howling Commandos as they assaulted Merlin's forces.
As a consequence of the battle, Groot dies, buying the team some time to escape. A new Groot was created as a sprig offshoot and went on to accompany the team on their continued mission against the Phalanx, but was one of the team members captured by the Phalanx. Groot and the others were freed by Mantis, and escaped back to the lines of the Kree's resistance. In time, Groot's body regenerated from the twig, growing back to full size. Groot and the others intended to carry on as part of Star-Lord's team.
Groot and the team returned to Hala to prepare another assault against the Phalanx, but their agent Blastaar was captured by the Phalanx and taken to their Babel Spire as he tried to carry Groot's pollen spores. Groot and Rocket Raccoon continued their mission by sneaking into the sub-basement of the Babel Spire. When Star-Lord was captured by Ultron, the original plan of laying explosives in the Spire failed, so Rocket Raccoon and Groot needed to come up with a new plan. Groot decided to sprout inside the Spire, growing to colossal size and filling a large portion of the building.
Mantis was able to remix Groot's sap in a way as to make it extremely flammable, and again Groot died for the team, this time by purposefully igniting himself to destroy the Babel Spire. A cutting of Groot was kept by Rocket Raccoon, though, and Groot was again able to regrow. Groot then joined the new Guardians of the Galaxy (or, as Groot would have it, "Groot and Branches"), and began regrowing under the care of Mantis.
When the Guardians reformed, Groot joined with Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Drax the Destroyer and Gamora, whom Groot counted as friends.
During the 2015 Secret Wars storyline, Groot is with the Guardians of the Galaxy when they take part in the incursion between Earth-616 and Earth-1610. Groot and Rocket Raccoon are killed by the Children of Tomorrow. However, when Peter Quill — one of the few survivors of the incursions from Earth-616 — finds himself confronted by Black Swan in the castle of Doctor Doom, he reveals that he has been carrying a small twig of Groot in his pocket ever since the incursion. He slams the twig into the roots of the World Tree, allowing Groot to transform the giant tree into his body. Groot decimates Doom's castle as the surviving heroes mount their final assault.
During the "Civil War II" storyline, Groot and the Guardians of the Galaxy are summoned by Carol Danvers to help her in her fight against Iron Man's side. The resulting battle damaged the Guardians of the Galaxy's ship stranding them on Earth.
During the "Monsters Unleashed" storyline, the Guardians of the Galaxy defend Groot from a snake-headed Leviathon.
During the "Secret Empire" storyline, Groot and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy assist Captain Marvel, the Alpha Flight Space Program, members of the Ultimates, Hyperion, and Quasar in intercepting a fleet of Chitauri that are approaching Earth until a Hydra-aligned Steve Rogers activated the Planetary Defense Shield trapping those fighting the Chitauri outside of Earth's atmosphere. Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot try to enlist representatives of the Skrull, Kree, Brood, Shi'ar and Spartax empires that are on the Galactic Council in helping against the Chitauri hordes and to break down the Planetary Defense Shield and get rid of Hydra. Realizing they are now facing a galaxy without human interference, the Galactic Council refuses aid and attempt to kill the three Guardians as they flee. After the Planetary Defense Shield is shut down, Groot and the Guardians of the Galaxy join the final battle against Hydra.
Rocket Raccoon and Groot are on their way to the Stohlad Ring when they are ambushed by Gardener where he shattered Groot because the Guardians of the Galaxy "corrupted" him and diverted him from his true purpose. Rocket Raccoon escaped with a splinter where Groot grew a new body from it.
During the "Infinity Countdown" storyline, Groot was with the Guardians of the Galaxy when they notice that the planet Telferina is under attack by the Flora colossi that Gardener grew from Groot's splinters. Groot got close to Gardener and used his healing powers to purge the poison that Loki put in him from his body. Gardener repaid Groot by using his abilities to restore Groot to his previous size. In addition, Groot can now speak in full sentences and Illeism.
Groot has been seemingly killed on multiple occasions, each time regrowing from a sprig.
The meaning of the word 'Groot' comes from the Dutch word 'groot' and translates as 'Tall'. The mature form of Groot's species is robust and heavyweight, which causes the organs of acoustic generation to become stiff and inflexible. It is this nature of Groot's larynx that causes people, who are oblivious to the subtle nuances of Flora colossi speech, to misinterpret Groot as merely repeating his name. It could not be determined whether Maximus' claim was true or merely another manifestation of his madness, though Groot genuinely did seem to be assisting Maximus with highly advanced engineering. In All-New X-Men #23, Jean Grey telepathically links with Groot, showing that Groot's thought processes are indeed complex, and the declaration of "I am Groot!" usually represents attempts at highly intelligent communication.
Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave Rocket Raccoon and Groot #1 a grade of 7.8 out of 10, writing, "This new series may not feel terribly "all-new" or "all-different," but it features a proven creative team exploring the continued misadventures of Rocket and Groot. It's tough to go wrong with that. Unlike some Guardians comics, this series quickly finds its niche and promises interesting wrinkles to come for both characters."
Alexander Jones of Comics Beat called I Am Groot #1 a "charming, colorful tale," saying, "Thankfully, I Am Groot is the beginning of something good. All the pieces are there story-wise, art-wise, and character-wise. Now the task is the new journey we’re taking with some ink and paper friends. Fans of the movies and fans of the original comics will find much to appreciate with this issue. Time to blast up the jams on your old cassette tape deck and enjoy with a smile." Baltimore Lauren of Bleeding Cool asserted, "Hastings delivers a strong narrative with the small tree creature-slash-assassin. Despite only speaking three words, he does inflect great emotion through Groot."
| + !Title !Material Collected !Publication Date !ISBN | |||
| Rocket Raccoon & Groot: The Complete Collection | Rocket Raccoon (vol. 1) #1–4, The Incredible Hulk #271 and material from Tales to Astonish (vol. 1) #13, Marvel Preview #7, Annihilators #1–4, Annihilators: Earthfall #1–4 | April 10, 2013 | |
| Groot | Groot #1-6 | January 27, 2016 | |
| Rocket Raccoon & Groot Vol. 0: Bite and Bark | Rocket Raccoon (vol. 2) #1-11, Groot #1-6, and material from Guardians of the Galaxy: Tomorrow's Avengers #1 | September 21, 2016 | |
| Rocket Raccoon & Groot Vol. 1: Tricks of the Trade | Rocket Raccoon & Groot #1-6 | July 20, 2016 | |
| Rocket Raccoon & Groot Vol. 2: Civil War II | Rocket Raccoon & Groot #7-10 | November 9, 2016 | |
| Rocket Raccoon and Groot: Tall Tails | Rocket Raccoon and Groot #1-10 | March 11, 2020 | |
| I Am Groot | I Am Groot #1-5 | December 5, 2017 |
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