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Groot
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Real Name
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Groot
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First Appearance
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Tales to Astonish #13 (November 1960)
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Creators
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Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby
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Team Affiliations
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The Guardians of the Galaxy
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Aliases
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Monarch of Planet X
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Base of Operations
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Mobile
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Powers
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Accelerated healing factor, Superhuman strength and durability, Elasticity/plasticity, Plant manipulation
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Skills and Abilities
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Combat Training
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Paraphernalia
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None
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Groot is a superhero in the Marvel Universe and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Biography[]
Original Groot[]
Groot is an alien tree monster who initially came to Earth to abduct humans for study and was seemingly destroyed by termites used by Leslie Evans. 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 and they stampeded on Merlin's army; Groot was the only one to turn back and offered to join the Howling Commandos. Groot aided the Howling Commandos as they assaulted Merlin's forces.
Guardians of the Galaxy's Groot[]
A different Groot played a part in Annihilation: Conquest, at which time it was shown Groot may be the last remaining member of the Flora Colossi, and was under arrest by the Kree for an unknown reason. Groot earned freedom by joining Star-Lord's strike force, where Groot and Rocket Racoon formed a bond, Rocket being one of the few beings with the ability to understand Groot's language. Star-Lord's team fought their way through the [ Phalanx, but after the death of Deathcry the team decided to escape through a drainage pipe that Groot could not fit into.
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 so the resulting fire would 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 Emperor Doom, he reveals that he has been carrying a small twig of Groot in his pocket ever since the incursion, slamming it into the roots of the World Tree and causing Groot to transform the giant tree into his body, decimating Doom's castle as the surviving heroes mount their final assault.
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 devated him from his true purpose. Rocket Raccoon escaped with a splinter where Groot grew a new body from it. All-New Guardians of the Galaxy #9. Marvel Comics.
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 back to his previous size. In addition, Groot can now speak in full sentences and refers to himself in the third person.Infinity Countdown #1. Marvel Comics.
Origins[]
Groot is a Flora colossus from Planet X, the capital of the branch worlds. The Flora colossi are tree-like beings whose language is almost impossible to understand due to the stiffness of their larynges, causing their speech to sound like they are repeating the phrase "I am Groot". Other beings try to be friendly but become angry with the Flora colossi for not being able to speak. (Groot was shown to be capable of speaking not just understandably but eloquently throughout Annihilation: Conquest.) The Flora colossi are ruled over by the "Arbor Masters" and teach the children of the species with "Photonic Knowledge", which is the collected knowledge of the Arbor Masters of the generations and is absorbed through photosynthesis; this is a highly advanced education method, making the Flora colossi geniuses. Planet X's biome is managed by "Maintenance Mammals" which are small squirrel-like beings.
The Flora colossus sapling that would come to be known as "Groot" came from an "Ennobled Sap-line" and 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", which the other saplings treated with prejudice. 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 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.
Powers and abilities[]
Groot can absorb wood as food, and has the ability to Regeneration_(biology)|regenerate. Groot can control trees and plants, using them to attack others, and appears to be resistant to fire. Groot is able to sprout dramatically increasing mass which then severely inhibits movement.
Groot has been seemingly killed on multiple occasions, each time regrowing from a sprig.