Groot is a Flora colossus, the prophesized hero of Drez-Lar, and the accomplice of Rocket. Together, the pair had traveled the galaxy picking up bounties until they met Star-Lord and Gamora just before the four of them were captured and put into the Kyln, where they also met Drax the Destroyer. There, they agreed to work together to escape and sell the Orb for a massive profit. However, when it was discovered that the Orb contained one of the Infinity Stones which was being sought out by Ronan the Accuser, Groot convinced his friends to risk everything to stop Ronan's diabolical plans. During the Battle of Xandar, Groot sacrificed his own life to save his new friends. However, part of his destroyed body was planted by Rocket to birth a new Groot, as they joined the Guardians of the Galaxy.
As the new Groot began to grow, he stayed with the Guardians and endeavored with them on many adventures. They were soon hired by the Sovereign to destroy an Abilisk, but they were then targeted by their former employers due to Rocket who double-crossed them and stole some of the Anulax Batteries. During the escape, they had met Peter Quill's father Ego while Groot and Rocket, along with Yondu Udonta, were captured by Taserface's faction of the Ravagers, but Groot was able to help them all escape. Groot then joined his allies and assisted them in destroying Ego and saving all his friends, but Udonta died. Over the next four years, Groot continued to grow and started exhibiting the personality of an adolescent.
Both Groot and Rocket then left the Guardians temporarily to accompany Thor to Nidavellir in order to help his mission to stop Thanos from completing the Infinity Gauntlet. After they had helped Thor obtain his weapon, Stormbreaker, Groot and Rocket traveled to Earth using the Bifrost Bridge and joined the Battle of Wakanda. Groot fought alongside Captain America and attempted to attack Thanos; however, when the Mad Titan amassed all six of the Infinity Stones, he succeeded in eliminating fifty percent of the universe's population, which resulted in Groot's death.
Five years later, the Avengers managed to resurrect the victims of the Snap, restoring Groot. Alongside Winter Soldier, he left Wakanda through an Inter-Dimensional Portal and joined the Battle of Earth. In the aftermath of the battle, Groot attended Tony Stark's funeral and rejoined the Guardians, now including Thor, on their adventures. Groot and the Guardians worked with Thor on several missions, but they went their separate ways after the Battle of Indigarr in order to protect worlds that had lost their gods to Gorr the God Butcher. While operating with the Guardians at Knowhere, his new heardquarters, Groot helped throw a Christmas party for Peter Quill, bringing Kevin Bacon as a Christmas present.
Groot would end up taking part in a dangerous mission that would put him into conflict with the High Evolutionary, who sought the life of Rocket, after he was mortally wounded in an attack by Adam Warlock. In order to save his life, Groot accompanied his fellow Guardians to the Orgoscope and later Counter-Earth, ultimately defeating the High Evolutionary and resuscitating Rocket. Groot would remain in the Guardians after other members decided to either leave the group entirely or withdraw from active membership, now under the leadership of Rocket, where he was joined by Kraglin Obfonteri, Cosmo, Phyla, Warlock, and Blurp.
Groot was a hyper-intelligent, tree-like organism from the species Flora colossi native to the Planet X. While he possessed human level intellect, Groot's robust and heavyweight physiology caused the organs of his acoustic generation to become stiff and inflexible, rendering the limits of his speech to the simple phrase, "I am Groot."[7]
He was imprisoned in a run down intergalactic zoo, forced to be an exhibit for tourists. One robotic guard named Tibius Lark took a liking to Groot and eventually decided to break him out. Groot and Lark became friends and associates as they went throughout the galaxy.[12] Groot racked up 3 counts of grievous bodily harm, 15 counts of escape from incarceration and 3 counts of mercenary activity.[7] They eventually got arrested and were thrown into a dungeon.
Groot and Rocket fight off the dungeon guards
Lark was in bad shape as he was gravely injured during the arrest. He and Groot met another prisoner named Rocket, who Lark started to like. As Lark knew his time was up, he told Rocket to take care of Groot. Lark soon died which allowed Rocket to see his robotic parts. Rocket then used the parts to create a gun. The new duo then broke out of the dungeon with Groot having Rocket on his shoulder.[12]
Deals at the Hub[]
Groot and Rocket escape from the Hub
Groot was the frequent partner-in-crime of Rocket. One of their adventures saw them travel to The Hub, where the duo rescued a family of sentient Scalluscs from the Stygian crime lord Zade Scraggot, who was planning on harvesting the shells of the hapless snail-like creatures to use as tiles for his bathroom. Groot and Rocket had originally been hired by Sqqd'li, under the orders of his employer, the crime lord Zade Scraggot, to acquire the Scalluscs for Scraggot, but upon learning the nature of their cargo and their intended fate, and that the Scalluscs could out-pay Scraggot, Groot and Rocket chose to rescue them from the crime lord instead.[13]
They went back to a hub space transport, the Paramatar, to capture Baldo for a bounty. They returned to D'Xtar, who told them he wouldn't pay because Rocket had a bounty on his head. Rocket stormed away angrily, but a Bounty Hunter stopped him. Groot and Rocket ran into an alley, but the hunters kept coming. Groot grabbed Rocket to protect him, but his friend thought he was trying to capture him too and escaped. Groot found him in a building where a bounty hunter was about to shoot him. Groot scared the hunter so badly that he cancelled the bounty. Rocket then apologized to Groot for not trusting him.[14]
Groot traveled to Xandar with Rocket where they sought out bounties to capture in a crowded plaza. While Rocket was looking at the many Xandarians, Groot began drinking out from a fountain but was quickly caught by Rocket. Groot tried to tell Rocket that he wasn't drinking from the fountain, despite of lying from his mannerisms.
Groot continues to drink from a fountain
After Groot was caught drinking on a public fountain, Rocket then got a signal to locate Peter Quill, who had a forty thousand Unit bounty on his head. While Rocket excitedly informed Groot of the find, Groot distracted himself by drinking fountain water, much to Rocket's frustration. Moments before Quill had tried set up a deal with Broker and Gamora attempted to steal the Orb from him, Groot and Rocket had planned to intervene the conflict.
While Quill was fighting off Gamora, who was attempting to steal the Orb, Groot grabbed a sack and grappled his roots onto Gamora; however, Rocket told him to capture Quill. In pure rage, Gamora threw Rocket across the plaza, disarmed Quill from the Orb, and used her Godslayer sword to graze Groot's forearm. Once Quill apprehended Gamora from her possession of the Orb, Groot then captured Quill with the sack and followed Rocket to collect the bounty.
Groot mourns the loss of both of his arms
Groot's victory was short lived once Gamora recovered and shoved Rocket away, attacking Groot by slicing his arms off and ending it with grazed hit on his abdomen. Quill then defeated Gamora from his escape from the bag and was later shocked by Rocket with his Laser Cannon. Groot was saddened by his loss of arms but Rocket noted that his arms will grow back and should quit whining. When the Nova Corps arrived at the scene, Groot and the group were soon arrested under their authority for breaking a couple of laws.[7]
The Kyln[]
Groot arriving inside the Kyln
"I'll split the profit between the three of us." "I am Groot." "Four of us. Asleep for the danger, awake for the money, as per frickin' usual!"
Once the four were taken away by the Nova Corps, they all arrived in their holding cells. Groot and the others were forced into a line up by the Nova Corps where all of their own criminal histories were presented for Denarian Garthan Saal by Rhomann Dey. With his arms growing back, Groot looked at the window and drew closer at the Nova Corpsmen.
The group were all sent to the Kyln by Saal to begin their sentence, where they all arrived together and continued their disagreements. While Star-Lord, Rocket, and Gamora had started to discussed the Orb, Groot gave his input but was rejected out of spite from Quill. As Rocket told Gamora that he knew who she was and Quill agreed alongside, Groot tried to explain who she is to Quill but he couldn't understand.
Gamora revealed to the group that she was planning on betraying Ronan the Accuser and selling the Orb to a third party. Groot began to speak to the group, which angered Quill into wondering why he could only say three words. Rocket noted that Groot does not speak well like the people like him and Quill, as his vocabulary is restricted to I, am, and Groot. Once Quill confronted the guard and demanded his Walkman, Groot watched as the situation had escalated.
Groot shows off his strength against an inmate
Once the four arrived at the Kyln, they soon established themselves as a team not to be messed with when Groot pushed his fingers inside the nose of the biggest inmate in the prison, causing him considerable pain. Groot, Rocket and Peter Quill were forced to sleep in a large room with most of the other inmates; however, Groot was so comfortable there that he slept through an incident where Gamora was nearly assassinated by Drax the Destroyer, only to be saved by Quill.[7]
After his restful sleep, Groot and the group had gathered their lunch and Rocket talked to them about a plan to break out of the Kyln with Peter Quill and Gamora. As a team, they would collect a prisoner's prosthetic leg and one of the guards' control devices attached to their arms in order to hack into the security tower.
Groot becomes enraged with security hoverbots
As Groot overheard about removing the prison's emergency lockdown, he decided to rip off the device that would have been used as the final step. By mistake on his part, Groot triggered the alarm, causing the whole prison to be on high alert. Groot was then under hostage by numerous Kyln Hoverbots that began to fire at him. As Rocket yelled at Groot's mistake for alarming the guards, Drax the Destroyer fought the guards that attempted to fire at him and Groot.
Once Drax came to their aid and tossed one of the guards' weapons, Groot became enraged and attacked the Kyln Hoverbots while Rocket began firing at them with great pleasure. Once Gamora gathered the green wiring that was required for the breakout, Rocket caught the item and told Groot move over to the watchtower. Ready for all of the others to regroup with him, Groot walked over to the railing where Gamora was and gave Rocket, Quill, and Drax help with climbing onto his roots in order to get into the security tower.
Groot and the team make their way to escape
Once the group got into the watchtower and locked the door behind them, they were soon found by a guard, who had gathered his team as they attempted to shoot the watchtower while Rocket worked. As Rocket then initiated his plan by switching off the prison's artificial gravity and took control of the Kyln Hoverbots to propel them out of the prison's docking bay, Groot was happily proud of Rocket as the five escapees made their way to escape. Now safely out of the way of the Nova Corps, they gathered their supplies and left the Kyln before Quill retrieved the Orb back.[7]
"What is that thing there?" "I am Groot." "I never thought I'd meet a Groot. Sir, you must allow me to pay you now so that I may own your carcass. At the moment of your death, of course."
While co-piloting the Milano with Rocket, they were headed for an inbound object that was about to approach them. As Groot had piloted forward, the group was informed that they were now arriving to Knowhere, a remote mining outpost in space that was built in the giant severed-head of a Celestial.
Groot gives a little girl a flower from his hand
When the Guardians traveled to Knowhere, they explored the premises while Gamora explained her reasoning of picking this particular location as it is the place to sell resources. Moving along the streets of Knowhere, they were met with some begging children, as Star-Lord warned them to hide their pockets from them. Groot then grew a flower out of his hand and gave it to a little girl that confronted him before. Accepting the locale, Groot had settled in the Boot of Jemiah with Rocket and Drax the Destroyer, playfully gambling on the Orloni's lives while Gamora and Quill conversed outside.
As Rocket and Drax had drinks, they soon became drunk enough that he started to pick a fight due to Rocket's disrespectful personality, which soon escalated into a brawl. Having to protect his friend, Groot got in a fight with Drax, only to be tackled to the ground and pinned down by his throat. Groot used his roots to choke out Drax, only for the roots to be break due to Drax's strength. After Rocket began to fight Drax, Quill calmed them down before they could kill each other.
As the outburst had settled down, Drax left the group and walked out of the bar. They were then greeted by Carina who finally invited them into the Collector's Museum, in which it was housed by several species and items in cages. While Taneleer Tivan summoned them to his museum; Groot was seen by Tivan and introduced himself. Tivan found himself interested in Groot, and asked for permission in displaying his corpse as an exhibit, much to Rocket's dismay, which nearly caused another outburst.
After formalities were over, Tivan revealed that the Orb contained an Infinity Stone, which was unveiled to be the Power Stone. Tivan noted that it was one of the Infinity Stones that was conjured as a powerful elemental object created by the Big Bang; so powerful that only the most powerful of beings were able to wield it, even if the burden of the power was separated among multiple people. As Tivan was done, he had reached his drawer to pay them in Units.
As Tivan was withdrawing the money to pay the Guardians, Carina decided to end her misery under his control, grabbing the Power Stone. Once Carina grabbed it in an attempt to help her escape from slavery, the energy from the Power Stone had caused a massive explosion which devastated the museum. Groot managed to pick up and rushed Rocket outside before the ensuing purple fireball could harm them, while Quill and Gamora tried to survive by hiding away from the blast and Tivan escaped with only an injured forehead.[7]
"I am Groot." "Save them? How?" "I am Groot." "I know they're the only friends that we ever had, but there's an army of Ravagers around them. And there's only two of us!"
Escaping away from the power that the Orb had carried, Groot noticed Gamora had caught it, causing Rocket to be frightened by the item inside it. As Gamora told the group that they should give the Power Stone over to the Nova Corps, Rocket objected her decision and suggested giving the Power Stone to Ronan the Accuser; however, Star-Lord proposed to give it to somebody who was not going to arrest them and had a whole lot of money.
Before they could continue arguing, Ronan and Nebula arrived with their entire army of Sakaarans behind them. Having learned that Drax the Destroyer had called his enemy for a chance to kill him to avenge his family. The group then noticed the Yondu Ravager Clan appeared, with the former having been called here by Drax. While Gamora had noticed the Mining Pods and stole one of them by a bystander, Groot was told by Rocket that he could not join the group due his massive size and should stay behind until he gets back.
Once Drax had been easily subdued by Ronan and was thrown into a tank full of spinal fluid from the Celestial, Ronan and his army returned to a Necrocraft which took him back to the Dark Aster as Nebula had reclaimed the Orb from Gamora. Noticing Drax nearly drowned in the tank, Groot pulled him out just in time and resuscitated him by stabbing Drax in the chest. Rocket returned and told them that Quill and Gamora had been captured by the Ravagers.
Groot decides to save his team members
Rocket then berated Drax for putting them in danger, making mocking remarks about the deaths of Drax's wife and daughter, which shocked Groot. Rocket said that he did not care how mean it was, as Drax's thirst for revenge was no excuse for getting them all killed. Rocket urged Groot that they should get to the other side of the universe in case Ronan would not find them. Groot insisted that they rescue Quill and Gamora, as they were the only friends they ever had and with Drax agreeing with him. Despite of his anger, Rocket reluctantly gave in.[7]
After the three flew the Milano to the Eclector and threatened to blow it up with the Hadron Enforcer if the Ravagers did not hand over Quill and Gamora, the tension was resolved when Quill let them know just in time that they had come to terms with the Ravagers. As the group had reunited inside the Milano, they reviewed recent events and decided that it was up to them to prevent Ronan the Accuser from destroying Xandar with the Power Stone.
Star-Lord and Gamora criticized the others for almost blowing them up, leading Groot to call them ungrateful, with Rocket agreeing with his statement. Gamora then told the group that they'll have the Ravagers' help to save Xandar. However, Rocket rebuttal her claim that it they'll just give the Stone to Yondu Udonta so he could sell to somebody even worse. When Rocket belittled Quill for having a plan to be twelve percent complete, Groot stuck up for Quill for his thought.
Groot decides to join the Guardians in battle
Once Quill thanked him and told the others that Groot was the only one of them who had a clue, he began eating a leaf that had sprouted from his shoulder. Eventually, Quill pitched his plan to attack the Dark Aster, kill Ronan the Accuser and take back the Orb, although the plan seemed like a suicide mission, the group agreed to fight alongside each other. Being inspired on how they would die fighting for the galaxy, Groot stood beside them and looked at Rocket, who finally stood up.
It didn't take long for the rest of the team to agree to help as well and they went back to the Ravagers' ship to discuss the details of the plan with Udonta and his men. Once the Guardians and the Ravagers came up with a battle plan and traveled to Xandar, Groot was ready for action and walked along with his team. Groot went on board the Milano in order to confront Ronan while Rocket had his own ship and led the Ravagers for aerial battle against the Sakaaran army.[7]
Star-Lord's team and the Ravagers put the plan into action and Quill warned Rhomann Dey so that he could tell the rest of the Nova Corps. As the battle began, Groot rode with Quill, Gamora, and Drax the Destroyer towards the Dark Aster. However, they were quickly attacked by numerous Necrocrafts sent by Ronan the Accuser, even managing to shoot Yondu Udonta's battleship out of the sky.
Groot steadily prepares himself from crashing
Just before they could all be destroyed, however, the Nova Corps arrived, led by Garthan Saal under the orders of Irani Rael. While Saal and Rocket kept Ronan's entire army at bay with the aid of the Ravagers, Star-Lord flew the Milano onto the Dark Aster through a hole blasted in by Rocket. As they crash landed into the ship, the Guardians infiltrated the Dark Aster as Quill used the ships' guns to kill dozens of the Sakaarans inside.
Groot sends bioluminescent spores for light
Once they landed and left the crashed ship, they discovered that the Dark Aster was too dark for them to see so Groot guided them through the darkness by creating bio-luminous spores to create a strange light across the ship to show them the way, when Drax questioned how he could do it, Star-Lord noted the answer would likely be "I am Groot." Suddenly, they were stopped by Nebula, as she cursed at Gamora for betraying Ronan and Thanos.
As Drax shot Nebula with his rocket launcher and the threat of Nebula seemingly dealt with the team, they split up; with Gamora going to unlock the security doors while Groot, Star-Lord, and Drax made their way through the Sakaaran army towards Ronan's location. As they were on their way towards Ronan the Accuser, they were eventually confronted by a team led by Korath. Groot aided the group by thrashing Sakaarans across the room.
As Quill and Drax in a battle against Korath and were confronted by another large team of Sakaarans sent by Ronan, Groot prepared to use his powers by grabbing several Sakaarans at once with his tendrils and slamming them repeatedly into the walls. While Drax and Star-Lord witnessed the massacre of Sakaarans as Groot extended his arm and smacked around the soldiers, he finished his fight and smiled back at his group for their teamwork.[7]
As they continued toward, they discovered that the door was still locked due to Gamora being busy fighting against Nebula. Before long, however, the door was opened and the team charged inside to confront Ronan the Accuser. The group then attempted to kill Ronan with the Hadron Enforcer, which caused a massive explosion, however, he survived due to his Universal Weapon and knocked back the team.
Despite that group was knocked back from the concussive waves, Ronan was determined to kill the Guardians only for Rocket to flew the Warbird through the Dark Aster, causing damages from the inside of the ship. Due to the badly damaged ship, Groot witnessed it being lit on fire and felt that the ship is falling down and heading towards the sky. While Rocket was seen by Star-Lord and was picked up to meet with rest of the team, Groot observes the ship's structure crumbling down and decided to save his allies from the wreckage by forming a large branch to protect them.
As Groot was forming his body into a protective crash sphere to save the other Guardians, allowing them to survive a crash from low orbit, Groot emitted spores to surround his team with light. As Groot had finished creating a large dome of wood out of his body, Rocket begged him not to do it or he'll die. Groot wiped a tear away from Rocket's face and told him that "We are Groot," before the ship had crashed.[7]
Guardian of the Galaxy[]
A New Groot[]
Groot is suddenly reborn back from existence
Although Groot had died on impact from the crash, the team recovered from the crash landing and was discovered that Ronan the Accuser had also survived the crash as he prepared to destroy Xandar with the Infinity Stone. However, the Guardians had successfully channeled the Stone's energy and killed Ronan with it, ending the battle. Rocket then retrieved a twig from Groot's remains and planted it on a vase.
Now on board the new Milano that was given by the Nova Corps, Groot slowly began to grow into a new tree as Drax the Destroyer nodded towards Rocket for regrowing him back. After Groot had grown a little bit bigger, he began to dance to "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5 behind Drax as he cleaned and sharpened his knives. Whenever Drax would look in Groot's direction, he would freeze until Drax looked away, but kept on dancing to beat of the music.[7]
Groot's First Steps[]
Groot eats cheeseballs
Groot sat in his pot on top of a table. Two machines came over to clean him up. However, they eventually brought over a new tree to replace Groot. He sat on his new table with a blanket around him to keep himself warm. The machines eventually took his blanket to put on the new tree prompting Groot to angrily kick a Yaro Root at the tree only for it to ricochet back at him. Groot was knocked off his table, but caught himself.
Groot walks for the first time
Groot then extended his limbs onto a pipe above and swung himself into the table. He began punching the tree, but quickly realized how much it hurt. He then broke off a twig which emitted a green sap. The sap caused him to slingshot back into the tree as he was walking away. The two tress hit the ground, breaking Groot's pot. He found out that he had legs instead of roots. He then ran around after figuring out how to walk. He later ate cheese balls with the tree beside him.[15]
A few months later, the Guardians of the Galaxy were hired by the Sovereign to defeat the Abilisk. As they waited, Groot punched one of the Orlonis as he believed they were looking at him funny, much to Rocket's disbelief.
Groot dances to the music from the speaker
When the Abilisk had landed on the platform after Star-Lord had detected it with his Inter-Dimensional Tracker, the Guardians began to attack it with their weapons to defend themselves. Groot then plugged in the speaker system, in which Rocket had set up so they could listen to music as they worked. With some minor configuration, Groot started to dance to the music before the Abilisk had burped out a concussive wave, causing Groot to be mildly disturbed.
While the rest had began to fight the Abilisk, Groot continued on dancing and ignored the commotion. The other Guardians tried to fight the Abilisk, with Star-Lord telling him to move out before he was hit by one of its tendrils. As Groot had pranced along behind Drax the Destroyer's entanglement with the Abilisk's tendrils, Groot turned to Gamora, as she told him to get out of the way so he didn't get hurt before waving his hand in his greeting, much to Gamora's likeness.
As Groot continued to dance, he was discovered by Drax, who landed behind him after his beating. As Drax tried to recover and get back up, Groot froze position of his dance and only moved slightly before Drax had got up and continued fighting the Abilisk. Groot then noticed a bug flying around him and began to catch it in order to eat it. While trying to eat the fly, Groot was found by Rocket and made him spit it out, much to Rocket's disgust. Groot then chased another Orloni and used his roots to ride around the battle until he was dropped.
After he was laying down on the ground, Groot got up danced near the speakers and while being happy to enjoy it, Drax was thrown across the room and broke the speaker, causing Groot to get angry and attack him. While Drax went inside the mouth of the Abilisk, the Guardians begin to attack in the air, as Gamora cut its neck with her Godslayer to murder the Abilisk. When the Guardians had finally killed the Abilisk, Groot threw a rock at Drax for his cockiness.
After the Guardians had settled down from the reckless battle, Quill explained to Drax about the Anulax Batteries and how they are worth thousands of Units a piece in which is the reason why the Sovereign needed the team to protect them while warning them about the Sovereign people's transgression. Despite Quill's specific orders of not upsetting the Sovereign, Groot observed Rocket stealing a few of the Anulax Batteries.
The Guardians then talked to Ayesha and were welcomed by her gratitude for there righteousness to defeat the Abilisk instead of risking her own people to fight it. Gamora then requested to release Nebula for her imprisonment and be handed over to them as payment. Ayesha then curious on behalf of Quill's heritage and talked about Quill's father about how he could possibly be reckless. As the Sovereign became aggressive from Rocket's insults to the Sovereign, the team had walk away from the room and exit the planet.[1]
As the Guardians of the Galaxy left Sovereign and flew away into with the Milano, Rocket tells the team that they'll have to get Nebula back to Xandar and collect that bounty. Groot watched out the window of the Milano as the Guardians flew away from the planet.
Groot suffers from a crash of the Milano
The Guardians were quickly followed by the Sovereign fleet, who were furious with Rocket for stealing their Anulax Batteries. As Gamora had questioned the team on why the Sovereign had followed them, Drax the Destroyer accidentally revealed to them that Rocket had stolen their batteries. After the Sovereign began to fire at the team, they maneuvered towards an asteroid field. When Rocket and Star-Lord started arguing, they crashed into an asteroid, causing Groot to be pulled back and was catch and passed along the team.
As a particular Sovereign craft tried to attack the Milano, Drax began to use one of the laser rifles and Holographic Space Suits to destroy one of the Sovereign spacecrafts that was piloted by Zylak. Once out of the asteroid field, more Sovereign fleets approached from both sides of the team, only for a man to destroy them all. Once the team had finally reached to Berhert, the ship was badly damaged from the battle. While Gamora had tried to save Drax from the outside hull, Star-Lord looked over his shoulder and noticed Groot eating candy before crashing in a forest.
Groot sits down and relaxes after the crash
After crashing on Berhert, Groot sat down at the broken ship while the Guardians had argued about the destruction of the Milano. After Rocket and Star-Lord became bitter towards each other, Nebula warns the team that incoming ship had followed them to Berhert. As the unknown ship had landed, they were introduced by Ego, Peter Quill's father and his servant named Mantis. After settling down in a campfire and acknowledge Ego's perspective, the few team members decided to visit his planet.
As Gamora, Star-Lord, and Drax had packed up to leave Berhert to go to Ego's planet, Groot and Rocket were informed that they will stay behind with Nebula. After Gamora had made sure for Rocket to keep an eye on Nebula while he was repairing the ship with the Nanobot Welder, Groot was met up with her and was told that she will come back after a couple of days. As the group had left the ship, Groot waved at Gamora while giving her a sad smile.
During the night, the Ravagers arrived on Berhert after tracking the Guardians, unaware that Rocket had set some traps. Groot stayed in the Milano with a speaker to contact Rocket. Eventually, Rocket had been apprehended by the Ravagers, deeply worrying Groot. Despite Gamora's orders, Groot was convinced by Nebula to free her from her bonds so she could save Rocket. After trusting Nebula's actions, Groot freed her from her restraints but was tricked, causing him and Rocket, along with Yondu Udonta to be taken by the Ravagers.[1]
After getting captured by the Ravagers, Groot, Rocket, and Yondu Udonta were taken to the Eclector where the Ravagers who sided with Udonta were being executed. While the Ravagers send their own people into space, Groot was stuck in a cage and was scared out of his mind when Retch tried to intimidate him.
Taserface took control of the Ravagers and began to beat up Udonta until Rocket was laughing out loud at the declaration of the Taserface's leadership of their Ravager clan. Taserface then questioned Rocket on what he was laughing at, to which Rocket responded that he thinks Taserface made up his name in order to sound cool. Further angering Taserface, Rocket insulted his name, making Groot and the entire crew laugh hysterically.
As Nebula insisted to hand the group over to the Kree, who would be wanting retribution for Ronan the Accuser's death, Rocket and Udonta were taken into custody and imprisoned inside of a cell. As Groot was still locked up in a cage, Gef asked Taserface if he could smash him with a rock, but Taserface disagreed, saying that Groot was too adorable to kill. Taserface then ordered Gef to take him to the tailor, where Groot was given a Ravager's outfit.
The Ravagers had gathered around while being drunk as they had Groot being released from his cage and put on an outfit and called out that Groot was their new Ravagers' mascot. As Groot grew angry at the outfit, Retch was laughing at his discomfort and poured alcohol onto the little tree. Being drenched in liquor, Groot screamed in anger and tried to attack one of the Ravagers, only to get kicked around. As Groot was physically abused, Retch stomped him to the ground.[1]
"I am Groot." "One minute you think someone has a weird shaped head, the next minute you realize part of that head is a hat. That's why you don't like hats?"
Groot, who had just been terrorized by Retch, walked by Rocket and Yondu Udonta's cell, being saddened and depressed from his experience. Udonta asked Groot if he wanted to escape, and instructed him to retrieve his Yaka Arrow Controller so that he could use his Yaka Arrow to help them all escape.
However, after Groot's failed attempt to understand what he was supposed to bring, Groot went over the Ravagers' room and brought Udonta's underwear. Having been told again to find the Fin, Groot brought an Orloni, Vorker's prosthetic eye, an entire desk, and a severed toe, much to Rocket and Udonta's disturbance. As Udonta kept on telling him find a drawer with a Ravager symbol on it, Groot misunderstood and put the symbol on his head.
Groot rants about the issue wearing a hat
As Udonta had gotten angry at him, Groot was translated by Rocket, who told him that he thought Udonta wanted him wear it as a hat. Groot was then pleased with this revelation as he complained about his issue with people wearing hats. With Udonta having to bring them into focus, they told Groot where to find the prototype fin, only to be brought by Kraglin Obfonteri who witnessed him taking an item from a drawer. As Obfonteri felt sorry for Udonta and wanted help him for the murder of his friends, Groot was taken back to join the group.
Once Obfonteri brought the controller to the two and went to go disconnect the third Quadrant, the trio were in position of their plan of attack, letting Udonta to kill a couple of Ravagers. The three proceeded to get out of the cell through hall of the Eclector where Udonta eliminated all of the Ravagers with his Yaka Arrow before they could react to shooting at their prisoners. When the three make their way to the big station where the Ravagers were alerted, Udonta used his Yaka Arrow to kill the rest of them one by one.
As Udonta slaughtered the mutinous Ravagers, Groot spotted Retch upward of a railing and began to chase him. Retch made a run for it, only to see a furious Groot to use his roots to get onto the catwalk Retch was on and chase after him. Fearing what Groot might do in revenge for the abuse he suffered, Retch attempted to escape. However, Groot easily attacked him with his vines and angrily threw him off the catwalk, killing him upon the impact. Groot then jumped back onto Rocket's shoulder as the trio headed to the bridge.
The trio arrived at the control room which provided monitors showing every corridor on the ship. Udonta and Rocket used these cameras to aim their weapons and shoot the Ravagers approaching them. Groot rode on Rocket's shoulder, cheering as the trio made their escape. The trio met up with Obfonteri and boarded the Quadrant, ejecting off the rest of the ship as it exploded due to Udonta setting off an explosion. Rocket set a course to Ego, performing over seven hundred jumps.[1]
Despite of Yondu Udonta's warnings of going further many jump points for health reasons, the group began to suffer some disfigurements with each orifices of their bodies are starting come apart. Groot and Rocket started to scream loudly as they went to many jump points to reach over to Ego.
Groot vomits after seven hundred jump points
Once they arrived at Ego, Groot, feeling nauseous from making seven hundred jumps, vomited out of his mouth from the ride. Groot then joined Rocket and Udonta in a Laser Drill and flew down to Ego to rescue Star-Lord. Groot took off his outfit that was forcefully put on him by the Ravagers and greeted Drax the Destroyer, Mantis and Nebula when they crashed into Ego. Waving at his allies, Drax told Groot to move out of the way while also insulting him.
Groot happily reunites with the Guardians
After being insulted with Drax's attitude, Groot was angered by him and started to hit Drax, much to his irritation. When Nebula insulted Rocket, Groot supported him saying that he was not a raccoon, which Rocket misheard as "raboon". The Guardians of the Galaxy proceeded to fly straight towards Ego's core to destroy it before Ego's Expansion could destroy the universe as they would know it. The Guardians flew down to Ego's core, as Rocket activated the ship's laser system to make their way inside.[1]
"I am Groot. I am Groot. I am Groot." "No! That's exactly what you just said! How's that even possible? Which button is the button you're supposed to push? Point to it. No!"
As they were destroying the core with the laser drill, a Sovereign fleet approached them causing them to fight back. Due to the generator being damaged, the core had to be destroyed with a bomb that Rocket made use Anulax Batteries. When Rocket and Quill flew out of the ship, Groot joined them as they made their way to the core. Seeing that they could not get to the core due to the extremely small size, Quill suggested that Groot make his way to the core.
Groot guesses on how to turn on the bomb
Rocket instructed Groot on how to activate the bomb and which button to push, but when he got Groot to repeat back what he had to do, Groot continuously believed he had to push the button that would set off the bomb instantly, killing everyone. Quill checked up on the two saying that Rocket was making him nervous. Rocket asked Quill to get some tape to put over the button so Groot would not push it. As Rocket and Quill argued, Groot took the bomb and headed towards the core.
While Ego apprehended all of the Guardians, including Groot who was trapped under some rubble while heading towards the core, which made him cry out, he had gotten himself stuck in there. With Quill's urge to use his heart to access the powers within him to fight Ego, Groot and the Guardians were released from Ego's grasp. Groot made his way to the core of Ego's nervous system, placed the bomb at the center, and then activated the bomb as Rocket instructed.
Groot then went to push the button that would set off the bomb immediately but stopped and decided to push the other button giving him time to escape. Rocket then retrieved Groot from the core and they went to fly off Ego when they noticed Udonta stranded. As they were about to depart Ego's Planet with just moments left to spare, the two went to Udonta who informed them that he was going to stay behind to rescue Quill.
Rocket gave him an Aero-Rig and a Holographic Space Suit and was about to say something to Udonta, but was not able to get the words out. Groot spoke for Rocket which he translated saying that Udonta was officially welcomed on the Guardians of the Galaxy, using a swear word to do it. The two then flew away and boarded the Quadrant, before Rocket had told Groot that they would need to discuss his language. When realizing Quill was not with them, Gamora demanded to know where he was.
When Rocket did not answer her, Groot pointed to outside the ship and implied that Quill was still on Ego. When she made a move to go back and get him, Rocket reluctantly knocked her out with a taser. The Guardians then evacuated the planet. Shortly after, the Guardians found Quill and the recently-deceased Udonta floating in space and retrieved them.[1]
After the Guardians retrieved Star-Lord, they held a funeral for Yondu Udonta who sacrificed himself for him. Quill gave Udonta a eulogy comparing him to David Hasselhoff, saying his peace with Udonta and how he became his pretty cool father all along. Groot sadly remarked on how Yondu nicknamed him "twig" while being comforted by Rocket.
After Kraglin Obfonteri gave Quill a 'Zune' that Udonta had bought for him that contained three hundred tracks, Groot found Quill listening to his new Zune and climbed onto him so that he could listen to it as well. As Quill noticed Groot sitting down his lap and was asked if he could listen to the tune, he gave him a headphone piece and the two listened to music together. As they kept on listening to Father and Son by Cat Stevens, Groot noticed some fireworks coming out of nowhere which had Quill getting to notice them as well.
They then watched the Ravagers give Udonta a traditional send-off into the next life. Rocket told the Guardians that he sent out a message to the other Ravagers, telling them of Udonta's actions. While the team had kept on watching the Ravager funeral, Groot then grew tired as he yawned while being hold by Gamora. Being passed along to Drax the Destroyer, Groot settled down onto Drax's shoulder and slept all through the funeral fireworks.[1]
Adventures in Space[]
Visiting Grundar[]
Groot builds a fort out of twigs
Sometime later, after acquiring the Benatar, the Guardians of the Galaxy visited Grundar. Once there, Groot went exploring by himself. He found a twig sitting on a tree stump and built an entire fortress out of twigs in just five minutes. Soon, a Vyloo with a snout knocked him off the fortress and then a Manta Bird knocked the fortress over in an attempt to eat the snouted alien. Groot threw a fit for thirty-seven minutes before finally falling over due to exhaustion.
As Groot opened his eyes, he saw a group of Grunds in a crater. The Grunds were so small that it made Groot feel like he was a giant, making him very happy. He played with the Grunds, but in actuality, he was terrorizing them. The Grunds responded by shooting him with weapons. Groot fells over in fear. He got so scared that he accidentally farted a leaf. Luckily, the leaf was the Grunds food source. Groot then ran to get more leaves, but on the way back, he accidentally stepped in the Grunds crater. He walked away as if nothing happened.[16]
One night, Groot woke up on the Quadrant to a banging sound. He drank some water, but the banging sound kept continuing. He took out Wrist Watch and strapped it to his forehead for light. He searched around and noticed a shiny substance. He followed some more clues until he found a toilet. He briefly used the toilet while reading a book about Thanos. He then flushed and walked back to bed. On the way back, there was an explosion. Groot investigated and found the shiny substance. The substance was an alien named Iwua, who shape shifted into Groot.
Groot glared at Iwua, stating he was Groot, in which Iwua copied his every move. To determine who was the real Groot, the pair had a dance off until the alien gave Groot tips on his dancing. During his examples, he shapeshifted back into his true form, an octopus-like creature. Groot realized that he was dangerous and danced with Iwua while leading him towards the escape hatch. Groot then pressed the button which sent Iwua into space. Groot then danced away as the hatch closed.[17]
Taking a Bath[]
Groot puts mud on himself
Sometime later, Groot and the Guardians traveled to Gangalor. Groot went exploring the planet by himself once again and found a puddle. He saw that the puddle was warm and held mud. He excitedly went in to take a bath. As he laid there, he found a bug and squeezed it to turn the puddle shiny. He also found a fruit to put over his eyes while he relaxed. He woke up to find that the mud caused him to grow leaves all over his body. He had trouble walking away and tripped.
Groot makes a scarf
Groot looked up to see his reflection in a tree stump. It showed his new haircut. Excited, he trimmed up his hair. Soon, the leaves died and fell off, so Groot got some more mud. He made haircuts like a mustache and afro. He even gave himself a dress out of leaves before all of those burned away. A Gangalorian Squirrel Bird was watching in the distance and decided to attack Groot. It then laughed at him. Groot became angry, but left to get some more mud. He soon found there was no more mud and saw the bird still laughing. He then cut off all of the bird's hair and wore it as a scarf and he got back on the Benatar.[18]
"And don't give me that look, don't think you're getting out of this by being cute. Why are you handing me this? Is this more trash? It better be a written apology. Oh this is very nice…We got to get this framed, put it on the top of the fridge."
Groot got the idea to make a family portrait, so he got the nearest paper he could find, a comic for Alf and painted it white. He used scissors to cut a little of Rocket's tail fur when he was sleeping and then snuck into the bathroom as Drax the Destroyer was taking a shower and took his purple soap. He started making the portrait, but realized he needed glitter. He grabbed a fuel rod and created a bomb to blow up a green motherboard which would cause a bunch of green debris to fall everywhere.
Groot did so and caught the glitter on his paper, but realized the explosion caused a huge hole. Groot took duct tape to create a bridge over the hole. Rocket walked over, having been woken by the noise and saw the explosion. He wondered what happened and chastised Groot, until Groot showed him the portrait. Rocket said he couldn't stay mad at him. Groot then walked away as Rocket asked if a piece of his fur was on the paper, but a second explosion happened. Groot managed to save Rocket before he fell in the hole.[19]
Groot was walking on Terma when he suddenly tripped over something. Looking around, he eventually found a Terma Bird egg that seemed to be cracked. He examined further only to find a Terma Bird popping out of the egg. Groot got excited and began playing with the innocent bird. He took some candy and spit it at the bird, who promptly spit it back for Groot to eat. Groot picked up the bird in excitement and kissed it. He tried to teach the bird his language, only for the bird to have a hard time understanding. Groot suddenly burped, leading the bird to follow suit, which made Groot happy.
Groot waves goodbye
Groot's excitement eventually turned to frustration as the bird started pooping everywhere, causing Groot to step in it. Groot tried to catch the bird, to no avail. When he finaly did catch it, Groot placed the bird on his head and gave it candy to calm it down. The two of them ran until Groot found a water droplet. He drank the water then let the bird do the same. However, the bird popped the droplet, annoying Groot, who could not catch a break as the bird pooped on him. Laying down in exhaustion, Groot tried to quiet the bird down, but was not successful. Wanting rest, he stuck the bird in his bag and began falling asleep. However, he was woken up by more birds, who gathered around him. Being caught in a stampede, Groot covered himself to keep from being hurt. When the stampede was over, Groot turned around to find the Terma Mama Bird, who flew off with the babies.[20]
A New Nose for a New Battery[]
Groot plays his game
On the Benatar, Groot was playing his video games. Stinking up the room, Groot ate a bunch of food without getting up. Suddenly, he got a notice that his controller needed batteries. Groot struggled to get up as he found himself stuck to the chair with his twigs from lack of movement. When he finally got up, he rummaged through a box, but did not find a battery. Instead, he found an artificial nose that was stuck to his face. Groot was at first scared, but soon realized that he could smell.
Groot sees the horror that is his room
Groot ran around the ship, smelling many thing liked flowers. He also smelled himself, leading to him putting on an odor protection. Additionally, he smelled the wonderful smell of books, but this caused him to sneeze. In an act of innocence, he wiped his boogers on the book pages. He smelled some more things and even threw one away. On the throw, he noticed he accidentally broke a module. However, the module popped out the battery he needed. Groot then made his way back to his room where he smelled the horrific odor coming from his seat. Groot looked around and found a duster, to which he used to simply break the nose off of him, inhibiting his smell. Groot then went back to playing his games.[21]
On his way to Falligar, Groot made himself a special treat to drink and warm up. He put some marshmallows in his cup, but not before eating one. He then proceeded to put whipped cream in the cup as well. When they arrived on the snowy planet, Groot hopped out and explored. He slipped and started gliding over the ice, so he ice-skated until he reached an icicle tree. Groot soon ran in fear as the icicles dropped on top of him. Groot then decided to create a snowman, which he happily did. Thinking he could do more, he fitted it with robotic parts, inadvertently creating a Killer Snowbot that fired at him.
Groot celebrates his victory
Groot evaded the blasts and ran up a hill. When he turned around, he found the robot making its way towards his hot drink. Groot jumped to slide down the hill only to sink into the snow. He popped up, but saw he could not catch up to the robot. In a last ditch effort, Groot wound up a snowball and threw it, hitting the robot and revealing its internal parts. Groot threw another one, which caused the robot to set off a rocket, flying into the stratosphere and exploding. Groot celebrated as snow debris rained down on him. Back on the ship, Groot finally drank his treat, only to realize it was too hot. In frustration, he slapped his drink away, hitting Rocket, who angrily yelled back.[22]
Screaming for Ice Cream[]
Groot displays his love for ice cream
On the Quadrant, Groot played with his toys until he heard a noise outside. He ran to the window in awe to see an Intergalactic Ice Cream Truck with many flavors of ice cream. Groot drew a heart in the window before checking his bark to find there was no money. He sighed in disappointment before running to find spare change. Tipping over a piggy bank, a coin fell out only for it to fall through a vent. Groot grabbed a vaccuum and tried to suck it out, but was the one sucked in instead.
Giving up, Groot found a claw machine with a coin in it. Instead of playing the game, Groot simply jumped into the glass, breaking it so he could fall through. He reached the coin, but realized it was fake. In anger, he tipped the whole claw machine over, which caused many real coins to fall out. Groot excitedly brought the coins to the window, but his luck kept running out as the truck was flying away. Groot ran to catch up to the truck and opened the space pod. Strapping himself in, Groot crashed the pod into the truck, unleashing tons of ice cream for him to have. Groot happily ate an ice cream bar depicting a celestial as the Nova Corps arrived to arrest him for his crime.[23]
Out of Nova Corps custody, Groot flew to Drez-Lar, where he explored. Bouncing a ball, Groot found a temple which he wanted to explore. Instead of evading the traps, Groot jumped on them for fun as the spears did not touch him. Groot was having so much fun that he stepped on a vital pressure plate that caused the Seed of Drez-Lar to be threatened with lava. Not even noticing, Groot dropped his ball, having it roll to a wall with a mural of the seed. Groot saw the mural and deided to draw on it with blue chalk.
Groot emerges from the rubble
Finally noticing the seed, Groot did not care much for it and made shadow puppets on the wall before taking a quick power nap on a make-shift hammock. When he woke up, Groot noticed his ball was stuck on the seed. He climbed up the stairs and grabbed his ball, simply letting the seed destroy itself. The seed's destruction caused the whole temple to collapse on top of Groot. Making it out of the rubble unscathed, Groot simply wandered back to the Benatar. As he flew off, he waved back at the planet.[5]
Cleaning His Room[]
Groot as an adolescent
"Dude, seriously? You gotta clean up your room, it's a complete mess." "I am Groot." "I am not boring, you're boring."
About a few years later, Groot became the size of an adolescent, with the attitude of a human approaching their teenage years.[24]Star-Lord entered his room in the Quadrant and complained at him to tidy up after himself and stop wasting his time playing his video game, Defender. Groot rudely called Quill boring and Quill felt sorry for Yondu Udonta, realizing what he had to put up with when raising Quill.[1]
In 2018, Groot traveled with the Guardians of the Galaxy in space for the insurgency of a distress call sent out by the Asgardians. While the Guardians had piloted the Benatar while singing a pop song, Groot was distracted by his gaming handheld console, wearily playing Defender.
As Mantis told them they're about to arrive at their signal and Star-Lord told them to be prepared and put on their mean faces, Groot loudly played his handheld gaming console, causing a disturbance amongst the group. When told to put it away, Groot rudely insulted Star-Lord's demand to focus on the mission, causing the team to be in an uproar. Rocket commented on how he'd changed since his growth spurt, and threatened to smash the game console.
After arriving to see the aftermath of an explosion and dead Asgardians floating in space, they rescued Thor after he landed on the cockpit window. Once they took Thor on board the Benatar, the team tried to figure out how he was still alive. Groot continued to play his game as the team tried to understand why Thor was still alive, revealing that he was feeling anger and tremendous loss. Star-Lord then ordered Mantis to wake Thor up, as he rushed out of the table.
Groot and the Guardians quickly prepared for an attack, only for Thor to calmly asked who they are. Having Thor settled down and eat soup, Gamora told him about Thanos' goal on wiping out half the universe's population with the Infinity Stones. Thor filled them in about Thanos' plan to unite all six Infinity Stones, causing Rocket to want to accompany him to Nidavellir to create a weapon capable of killing Thanos. Groot was told to come along by Rocket and settle inside the Space Pod.[4]
As the trio made their way to Nidavellir aboard the BenatarSpace Pod, Groot informed Rocket of his need to urinate, uncomfortable with the idea of them watching him. Though Rocket promised they wouldn't look and for Groot to do it in a cup, Groot protested Rocket's idea to do that. Thor tells Groot that he should pour the contents out into space and go in the cup again, in which Groot did so as Thor and Rocket discussed the upcoming conflict with Thanos.
Upon arrival at Nidavellir, Groot and the group headed over to the station where they settle inside its room, after getting a signal of their destination from the Space Pod. Groot joined Thor and Rocket as they searched the derelict forge, though continued to focus his attention on his game. Groot did take notice when Rocket pointed out a gauntlet like the one that Thanos wielded, and soon the group encountered Eitri, who thought they were enemies and ambushed them.
Groot remained in the forge as Thor and Rocket set to work re-igniting the darkened neutron star so that Eitri could build Thor an axe called Stormbreaker, but remained attentive to his game until he noticed a gravely injured Thor crash nearby after holding the forge's iris open. Eitri called for Groot's help as he desperately searched for a handle for the great weapon and Thor was slowly dying from the exposure to the star.
After seeing the lengths that Thor had gone to forge his new weapon, Groot finally put his game down and stepped in, grasped the two pieces of Stormbreaker, which were still incredibly hot, causing him great pain. Despite of getting burned by the burning metal, Groot then grew his forearm to a suitable length, and as he screamed in pain, he broke it off with his hand, creating a wooden handle and completing the weapon.[4]
Groot and Rocket were then transported to Earth by Thor who used Stormbreaker to summon the Bifrost Bridge, and arrived in the middle of a battle in Wakanda.
They immediately helped to turn the tide of the confrontation with the Outriders, during which
Thor had defeated some of the many incoming Outriders. During the heat of the fight, Groot impaled three Outriders with his arm and watched as Thor used Stormbreaker to impale many.
After Thor had reunited with Steve Rogers as they both noticed their facial hair and haircuts, Thor then pointed at Groot and introduced him to Rogers, leading Groot to commence himself as well while killing and lifting up a few Outriders from his forearm. In much of Rogers' confusion, he mistook Groot's words to be him introducing his name and so replied with it by reciting his own name in the order of Groot's vocabulary.[4]
Ultimately, Thanos arrived to take the Mind Stone from Vision. After the Avengers and T'Challa rallied up in an attempt to stop Thanos, Groot joined as a last defense to aid Wanda Maximoff and shot dozens of roots through the earth and managed to cage Thanos. Despite Groot's efforts, Thanos quickly broke free from his grasp as Groot's branches remained on the ground.
Thanos soon united the Infinity Stones within the Infinity Gauntlet and snapped his fingers, which began wiping out half of the universe's population. Groot was one of the many who disintegrated into dust; as he began to fade away Groot tried to speak to Rocket, calling for his surrogate father.[4]
While Groot's body had turned to dust, the remnants of his limbs from his attempt to restrain Thanos were collected and kept in storage. Eight years later, they would be acquired by the Skrull Resistance. Groot's DNA was obtained from these branches and transferred to the Skrull leader Gravik, granting him access to Groot's physiology and abilities.[26]
During the battle, Groot was reunited with Rocket. After alternate Thanos called for air strikes, Groot was knocked back by one of the blasts and Rocket attempted to shield him from a turret targeting them directly. When the missiles stopped firing at them, Groot looked up in the sky to see Carol Danvers arriving, who destroyed the alternate Sanctuary II. Eventually, the battle concluded when Tony Stark used the Infinity Stones to wipe out alternate Thanos and his army out of existence at the cost of his own life.[27]
As Groot had been wounded during the battle, he left branches containing his genetic material on the battlefield, which was collected by Nick Fury's secret Skrull unit and placed into a vial known as the Harvest alongside other enhanced DNA samples. The Harvest vial was later administered by Super-Skrulls Gravik and G'iah, granting them access to Groot's physiology and abilities, although Gravik already had Groot's DNA from a prior DNA transfusion.[28][29]
They then returned to the Benatar and flew to New Asgard in Norway to pick up Thor, who had decided to join them. He happily chimed in on the prospect of Peter Quill and Thor fighting for the leadership of the team, agreeing to the proposition of using knives in their fight, before they left Earth and departed for space.[27] Groot's short time on Earth resulted in the citizens learning of his existence, and he was featured at the New Jersey AvengerCon, referred to as Mr. Tree.[6]
Adventures in the Galaxy[]
Groot and the Guardians having adventures in the galaxy
Over the next several months, Groot and the Guardians of the Galaxy welcomed Kraglin Obfonteri into the team, while helping Thor lose weight and get back into shape. At one point, they let Thor pull the Benatar for strength training. During a journey to a swamp-filled planet, Groot and the Guardians fought off swamp robotic creatures while Thor watched from his perch on a rock.[30]
In 2025, the Guardians received a distress call on Indigarr and agreed to go only because Thor said it was going to be like a relaxing holiday for them, they were also accompanied by Korg, Thor's friend. Upon arrival, they were forced into battle against Habooska the Horrible and his army who were trying to take over the planet. During the battle, Groot got into a fight with Rocket over his binoculars. Groot then listened as Thor gave a speech to King Yakan of the Indigarrians and then single-handedly defeated Habooska and his army, accidentally destroying the Sacred Temple in the process.[30]
At the Benatar, Kraglin Obfonteri arrived at the ship with his new wife, surprising Groot. Later, Groot and the Guardians watched the calls for help in horror, discovering that several gods were being killed by Gorr the God Butcher. Before answering the calls, Groot and the Guardians saw a distress call by Sif. Thor told them he needed to help her and the Guardians said goodbye to Thor before leaving.[30]
Operating from Knowhere[]
Buying Knowhere[]
The Guardians of the Galaxy bought Knowhere from the Collector to rebuild it after it was destroyed by Thanos. The Guardians were also joined by a superpowered dog named Cosmo and they acquired a new ship as their main source of transportation.[31]
"I am Groot." "Oh. Suddenly you thought it was a bad idea all along?" "I am Groot." "Dude, I literally just saw you wheel him out in front of everybody."
Groot was present when Bzermikitokolok and the Knowheremen performed a Christmas song for Peter Quill. Groot jumped and danced around to the music. Later, Mantis got Groot all ready for a Christmas celebration. As Quill walked out, Groot carted out a huge present for Quill. When Quill opened it, he was mad to see Kevin Bacon, realizing that Mantis kidnapped him.
Groot happy with his gift
Groot remarked at how he knew it was a bad idea, but Quill called him out, saying that he literally just carted the present out. When Bacon decided to stay, he sang with the band as everyone celebrated. Quill gave Groot his very own GameBoy, causing Groot to hop in happiness. Feeling in the Christmas spirit, Groot gave everyone their own wood carvings. He gave Mantis a carving of her listening to Kraglin Obfonteri. he gave Quill one of Drax and Mantis kidnapping Bacon. He gave Drax one of him flipping police cars. He gave Nebula one of Bacon's gifts being opened. And lastly, he gave Obfonteri one of him opening up that very same present.
After the celebrations ended, Bacon said goodbye to the Guardians and was returned to Earth. Later on, Rocket decided to get Groot to stand like a Christmas tree as he and Cosmo the Spacedog decorated him. However, Groot eventually got tired and put down his arms, causing some of the decorations to fall off. Cosmo claimed that Groot had ruined Christmas, which led Rocket to remarking that they had to do another special.[31]
Some months later, the Guardians of the Galaxy finished rebuilding Knowhere and turned it into a base of operations for the team. One day, after helping Nebula put up a sign to the Guardian's headquarters, the team discovered Peter Quill passed out drunk in the bar, which concerned the group as he had fallen into a deep state of depression. When discussing what to do about Quill, Rocket suggested Mantis touching him to make him feel better, which Groot misunderstood, so he clarified with her powers.
That night, Rocket was attacked by Adam Warlock. Groot landed behind behind Adam and restrained his entire body with his branches. However, Adam flew them around Knowhere, crashing Groot into multiple buildings as he ripped his body apart. Groot was rendered as just a head from the fight, but was left with spider-like legs. Adam was eventually defeated by Nebula after nearly killing Drax the Destroyer, so Groot went over to Drax and comforted him by petting him on the head. Rocket was fatally injured in the fight, and the team learnt that he had a kill switch in him, so they departed Knowhere to save him.[32]
As they traveled to the Orgoscope, Groot, who was still growing his body back, sat by Rocket's side. Once they arrived, Groot piloted the Bowie as Peter Quill disabled the security shields, allowing them to pass through undetected. The United Ravagers boarded their ship, and the Guardians of the Galaxy teamed up with the past version of Gamora to infiltrate the Orgoscope.
Groot remained in the Bowie during the mission. Nebula contacted Groot and told him to pick them up, so he flew the Bowie towards the Orgoscope and crashed into the spaceport, where the Guardians were waiting for him. Groot asked them if his entrance looked cool, so Nebula told him it did. After escaping, the Guardians opened the file they obtained and witnessed the horrors that Rocket suffered at the hands of High Evolutionary. They discovered that the passkey had been deleted, but Groot suspected that it could have been downloaded by Theel, so they headed to Counter-Earth.[32]
Groot piloted the Bowie to Counter-Earth, and when they arrived, they were met by the Humanimals. However, the Humanimals immediately became hostile and attacked the Guardians of the Galaxy, so Nebula ordered Groot to turn into a Kaiju, which scared off all of the Humanimals.
A Humanimal named Neelie invited the Guardians into her home, where Groot called out Drax the Destroyer for rudely laying on the couch. Neelie informed them that Theel could be found in Arête Laboratories, so Quill decided to head there with Groot and Nebula, while Drax and Mantis stayed with the ship. Quill gave Groot his Quad Blasters to hide in him, along with several other guns. They then drove to Arête Laboratories, where only Groot and Quill were allowed inside, as the guards did not detect the weapons Groot was hiding.[32]
Once inside, Groot and Peter Quill encountered High Evolutionary, who decided to bomb the planet. As the ship ascended, Quill told Groot to kill everyone, so he pulled out a grenade from his body and threw it. Groot drew the multiple guns and began firing, as Quill reclaimed his Quad Blasters and joined in. The two shot everyone in the room, except Theel, who Quill tackled off the ship. Groot went after them, creating wings from his body to slow the fall as he grabbed onto Quill.
After Theel was killed from the fall, Groot stood by and watched as Quill pried off Theel's cybernetic headpiece. However, the Bowie (Vehicle)|Bowie, which was being piloted by Gamora, was crashing straight towards them. Once Quill obtained the headpiece, he and Groot were just able to avoid being crushed by the ship. They then entered the Bowie, and after escaping the exploding planet, they rushed to Rocket and uploaded the passkey. At first it did not work, but Rocket was successfully revived and Quill and Groot hugged him.[32]
They made contact with Nebula, who was inside Arête Laboratories with Drax the Destroyer and Mantis, and Groot informed them about how he and Peter Quill escaped the ship. Nebula, Drax, and Mantis were captured by High Evolutionary, so Groot, Quill, Rocket and Gamora went to rescue them. Before entering their ships, they discussed the attack, but when Groot commented, Gamora told him she knew who he was due to her still only hearing "I am Groot."
Splitting off into three ships, they approached Arête Laboratories, avoiding the swarms of Hell Spawn that were unleashed upon them. Once inside, they went to rescue their friends, only for Nebula, Drax, and Mantis to arrive at their location riding Abilisks. Learning that the Star Children were held prisoner on the ship, Rocket immediately went to rescue them, so the rest of the Guardians followed. They entered a hallway that was filled with High Evolutionary's guards and Hell Spawn, and as a team, they managed to successfully defeat every single enemy.
Groot joined Mantis, Drax, and Gamora as they rescued the children, while Rocket and Nebula piloted the ship, and Quill worked on the shield. As Groot guided the children to safety, he was found by Adam Warlock, who prepared for another fight. However, Adam collapsed from exhaustion, so Groot decided to carry him to Knowhere. When Adam asked Groot why he saved him, Drax translated for Groot, revealing that everyone deserved a second chance. When Rocket was unaccounted for, the Guardians found him fighting High Evolutionary, so they join in and defeated him. However, Rocket decided to let High Evolutionary live.
With the ship about to explode, the Guardians went to leave, but Rocket told him that they needed to save all the animals that were caged. They freed the animals and directed them towards Knowhere. They all managed to make it across for Quill, he fell behind. Quill managed to get out of the ship before it was destroyed, but became trapped in space and began to freeze to death. Groot attempted to save Quill by reaching out his arms, but they froze and broke off, so Groot cried out for his friend. Quill was saved by Adam, who carried him to Knowhere, and they all hugged Quill.[32]
In the aftermath of the battle, Groot went to Gamora to inform her that the United Ravagers had arrived to pick her up. Gamora was able to understand Groot, which made him happy, and he told her that he enjoyed working with her. Gamora reciprocated the feeling, patting him on the shoulder before leaving.
The Guardians of the Galaxy were all summoned to the bar, where Peter Quill revealed to them that he was leaving the team and returning to Earth. Groot then listened as the rest of the Guardians declared that they would also be departed for their own reasons. All that was left was Rocket Raccoon, who thought the Guardians were finished. However, Quill appointed Rocket the new captain of the team, and they all saluted him. Groot then told his friends that he loved them, and they all left.
Groot went outside and joined the rest of the citizens of Knowhere as they helped the Star Children getting settled in their new home. Rocket started playing music from the Zune through the speakers on Knowhere, so Groot began to dance. Rocket joined in, and the two friends danced together to Dog Days Are Over. Everyone else on Knowhere then joined in and danced to the music. As they danced, Cosmo the Spacedog let out a howl, and all the remaining Guardians howled with joy over their recent victory.[32]
"I am Groot." "So what it's better than eleven percent? What the hell's that got to do with anything?" "Thank you, Groot. Thank you. See, Groot's the only one of you who has a clue."
Groot is usually very gentle and warm, displaying kindness towards innocent life. His child-like personality often causes him to be distracted and simple-minded, such as by a water fountain that he kept drinking from in public while Rocket was trying to talk to him and then trying to deny it. He tends to not listen to plans and goes off to tackle threats on his own, such as when he wandered off from Rocket to remove a power source in the Kyln without listening to the full plan and missing the fact that it needed to be taken last.
During intense or serious situations, Groot is sometimes smiling gleefully, such as when he and Rocket where trying to abduct Peter Quill on Xandar or after impaling several Sakaarans on his vines and angrily thrashing them around a hallway for several seconds. He is loyal to Rocket and the other Guardians, and was even willing to die to protect them, as shown in the Battle of Xandar. However, he can also be merciless and savagely brutal towards his enemies, especially if they threaten his friends, as shown when lifted an inmate on the Kyln into the air by his nose to cause him enough pain to leave him sobbing on the floor, all just because he got in the way of himself and Rocket and threatened Quill, who was their bounty.
As a baby, Groot could be shown to misinterpret simple requests such as bringing Yondu a prototype for his weapon and knowing which button to press to activate a bomb that would kill Ego's consciousness. He enjoys listening and dancing to music, even while his friends were battling the Abilisk. Similar to a human baby, Groot is deeply affectionate and seeks the company and comforting arms of his friends, sometimes falling asleep on their shoulders like he did with Drax. Despite this, he retains his savage and violent nature, as shown when he would regularly attack small creatures and angrily attacking and sending Retch falling to his death in revenge for being abused by him. He also attempted to attack Drax twice, once for bumping into him and another time for crashing into a stereo that was playing a song he was dancing to, though his small size made his strikes unable to faze Drax anyway.
He also has used curse words before and could use them adamantly, but Rocket could just leave them out in his translation of Groot to the other Guardians.
As an adolescent, Groot displayed the typical behavior of a human teenager, such as being rude, making a mess of his own space and getting obsessed with playing video games. Unlike his father, he hardly smiled and seemed to be unaware of his surroundings most of the time. He frequently snapped at his Guardian companions when he got told off, resulting in them, notably Rocket and Peter murmuring about how they miss the old Groot and how annoying the new Groot is. Nevertheless, Groot's loyalty to his companions remains as strong as ever and he staunchly stands by them during fights, fully retaining his old courage and headstrong nature. He even went as far as to resist the pain of the newly heated pieces of Stormbreaker and sacrificed his arm to create the axe without hesitation. He also seemed to look up to Rocket, referring to him as "Dad" in his native tongue as he faded away.
As an adult, Groot had let go of his previous grouchy demeanor, and notably become happier and enthusiastic; such as he was the only one dancing to Bzermikitokolok's Christmas song for Quill. He also expressed excitement towards the latter for getting him a Gameboy as a present to the point of jumping for joy. Furthermore, Groot is shown to be far more intelligent, mature and straight-forward than he was before, as demonstrated; when he flew the Bowie to pick up his teammates from the Orgoscope and when he deduced that Rocket's override code was in Theel's headpiece. This is seen again; when he and Quill fight off the High Evolutionary's henchmen; with weapons he hid inside his body and saved them; by sprouting wings to give them more air resistance after he tackled Theel off of the ship. Groot also had a greater sense of responsibility and respecting others, as shown when he attempted to stop Drax from sleeping in the couch of Neelie's house, telling Drax that it was rude. But he still retains some of his nativity, as he landed the Bowie somewhat poorly; when rescuing his friends, being unaware of the damage that; he had caused while bragging about the pickup looking cool to Nebula; who humors him; by agreeing.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
"Hey, that man was a plant." "Oh, Groot? He's just a kid."
Floracolossus Physiology: Groot is a Flora colossus, an ancient race of tree-like humanoid beings, with superhuman abilities. As a tree-like being, he could manipulate his body to grow limbs. They also grow at a faster rate than normal humans, as Groot grew from a baby to a teenager in the span of 4 years. A Flora colossus can also be planted back to life with remaining twigs to give birth to a new Flora colossus, although as an offspring it will not retain the memories or personality of the original.
Groot is capable of great feats of strength, from breaking sturdy metal items to fighting other strong opponents and lifting and flailing around ten armored warriors with comparative ease. As Baby Groot, he was able to strangle the larger Retch with his vines before throwing him off the catwalk, killing him upon the impact. He was also able to impale three Outriders with his branches and lift them effortlessly. He could even pull a branch off of a tree while still in his baby pot. He is also physically stronger than Hell Spawns, as seen in the Attack on Arête Laboratories, with Groot grabbing, knocking out and throwing several of them.
Superhuman Durability: The skin of Groot is composed entirely of a dense and durable wood, thus allowing him to easily sustain large amounts of damage from firearms, melee weapons, explosions and immense heights. He can easily hold against several blows of Gamora's sword, various shots of the Kyln Hoverbots, multiple punches from Drax, and Sakaarans' attacks. He also withstood many shots by the Grunds. While fighting the High Evolutionary's henchmen, Groot used his branches to shield Quill from the shots.
Superhuman Stamina: Being a tree, Groot can do anything for long periods of time without getting tired at all. He was involved in a long-standing dance off with Iwua in the middle of the night where he would've been very tired.
Regenerative Healing Factor: Groot's biology is made up entirely of plant-like tissues, granting him highly developed regenerative abilities. He can regrow lost limbs in a few hours, and in his muscular state, he was capable of regrowing his entire body from only his head within a few hours. In combat, Groot's advanced regeneration gives him the ability to survive almost any attack. His body can immediately heal sustained damage, which, in combination with his rapid growth, makes him extremely difficult to kill.
Groot has the ability to change his physical form, and shape his body in various ways. He can also manipulate his body to form organic constructs that he uses as tools or weapons. Groot can coat his arms in a shell seemingly composed entirely of twigs. The resulting shield is bulletproof. To save the Guardians when the Dark Aster fell, Groot shaped his whole body into a massive sphere. The sphere was able to save the lives of the Guardians, although it was completely destroyed along with Groot's body. In addition, he can generate sharper twigs in order to hurt the enemy, and can also use one of these spikes to pierce Drax's chest, giving him a hole to breathe through.
Limb Extension: Groot can extend any part of his body, particularly his limbs, to make himself longer. He can make himself taller and extend his fingers and arms, using them as piercing weapons, even impaling enemies from inside out. He used this ability to create a handle for Thor's new axe Stormbreaker on Nidavellir in a pinch to save the Asgardian from his near-fatal exposure to the energy of a star. He also extended his arms to grab hold of a pipe above so that he could swing onto another tree.
Plant Generation:
Groot grows his own hair
Groot is able to grow different plant parts from his body, such as leaves, flowers, vines and spores. While forming a protective sphere around the Guardians, Groot was able to generate leaves inside it. Groot is also able to create and manipulate many vine-like appendages to interact with objects or people. While attempting to capture Star-Lord, he used several of these appendages to hold Gamora. He also used them to try to stifle Drax, but they were quickly destroyed. Furthermore, he attempted to subdue Thanos by smashing the ground which sent a swarm of vines to him, but Thanos instantly overpowered the vines and escaped out of them. He can also emit bioluminescent spores that provide light. He used this in order for he and the Guardians to see in the Dark Aster. He also generates flowers, such as the one who gave to a little in Knowhere. While frightened from the constant attacks of the Grunds, Groot managed to fart a leaf. Later, he was even able to grow leaves all over his body with the help of some mud. This allowed him to play with different hairstyles like a mustache.
Abilities[]
Expert Combatant: Heavily relying on his brute strength, Groot is able to single-handedly destroy multiple turrets and fight dozens of Sakaarans at once, thrashing them around a hallway with ease. In his adolescent stage, his massively increased size allows him to fight almost as effectively as his parent self, using similar sets of powers and abilities.
Expert Marksman: Groot has acquired a level of proficiency in using firearms, even growing multiple limbs to shoot at his enemies.
Pilot: Groot was able to fly the Bowie into the Orgoscope when called upon by the Guardians, albeit not as smooth as the other pilots could. He was also able to pilot one of the Bowie's pods more successfully.
Multilingualism: Although his speech is primarily limited to the phrase "I am Groot," Groot is able to understand other languages.
Milano: Groot and the rest of the future Guardians of the Galaxy escaped the Kyln in Peter Quill's ship, which they took to Knowhere in order to sell the Orb to the Collector. Groot, Rocket, and Drax the Destroyer used the Milano to threaten the Ravagers, who they believed to be holding Quill and Gamora hostage. The Guardians later crashed the Milano into the Dark Aster to attack Ronan the Accuser. The Nova Corps restored the ship and gifted it to the Guardians, where Groot began regrowing and danced. Groot was raised in the Milano as the Guardians operated out of it, until it crashed on Berhert.
Eclector: Groot and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy met on the Eclector and made a plan to take down Ronan the Accuser. The prepared for the fight on the ship. Groot was later taken prisoner on the ship by the Ravagers and used as their mascot, until Rocket and Yondu Udonta helped him escape.
Quadrant: Groot, Rocket, and Yondu Udonta escaped the Eclector by detaching a quadrant of it and flying away with it. They brought it to Ego's planet, where they joined the Guardians of the Galaxy in a fight against Ego. Groot escaped the battle to the quadrant before the planet blew up and attended Udonta's funeral while in the quadrant.
Dark Aster: The Guardians of the Galaxy boarded the Dark Aster and confronted Ronan the Accuser while the ship crashed onto Xandar. Groot surrounded his friends with himself to protect them, sacrificing himself as the ship and Groot were destroyed.
Laser Drill: Groot brought the laser drill to Ego's planet and brought it to the core of the planet. He left the plant to enter the core and blow up the core.
Benatar: Groot and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy operated out of the Benatar. They responded to a distress signal and discovered Thor, who revealed to them that Thanos was looking for the Infinity Stones. Groot, Thor, and Rocket left together to get Thor a weapon to kill Thanos.
Bowie: After buying Knowhere, Groot and the Guardians would operate on missions with the Bowie. Groot would bring the Bowie to the Guardians during their infiltration Into the Orgoscope, and later use one of the pods to invade Arête Laboratories.
Kyln: Groot was imprisoned in the Kyln along with Peter Quill, Gamora, and Rocket. After establishing themselves as a tough pair, Groot and Rocket broke out of the prison along with Quill, Gamora, Rocket, and Drax the Destroyer.
In the comics, Groot is the monarch of the Planet X and his full title is "His Divine Majesty King Groot the 23rd, Monarch of Planet X, custodian of the branch worlds, ruler of all the shades," and the first alien to visit Earth as depicted in the mainstream Marvel Universe chronology.
The original Groot's phase of growth was 370 microbules tall and weighed 4258 grets.[33]
In the first official trailer of "Guardians of the Galaxy," Groot was referenced in the Nova Corps database as a "humanoid plant inhabitant of Taluhnia."
According to James Gunn, offspring Groot has no memories of adult Groot from the first film.
Groot plays a minor role in the 2018 Disney film Ralph Breaks the Internet as the host to a Q&A. One of the "netizens" asks him if he may be a descendant to Yggdrasil, to which Groot answers with his catchphrase "I am Groot."
Vin Diesel recorded the line "I am Groot" multiple times for the film, using different intonations, inflections and moods to portray Groot. He even repeated the process in multiple languages so that his voice would be the one used in most translations of the film.
Many viewers have drawn similarities between the film's portrayal of Groot and the titular character from the 1999 film The Iron Giant, mainly due to both characters being portrayed by Vin Diesel and their supposed sacrifices in the films' climaxes, before revealing their survival at the end of the film.
Gunn originally meant to have Groot fully regenerated and adult in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but this was changed because he found it too repetitive for the story.[34]
Baby Groot's design was heavily inspired by Anthony Francisco's Filipino culture. The type of wood he appears to be made of is based on Balete trees, which have significant cultural and spiritual meaning in the Philippines.[36]
Francisco initially designed Baby Groot to have a diaper, but changed it to allow Groot to move properly. Therefore, Francisco designed his movements to be based on those of his son. As Francisco's son grew up, his movements were also used to inspire Adolescent Groot and Swoll Groot. Swoll Groot's face was also based on Francisco's son.[36]
