Groot

Groot
Alias	Unknown
Other names	Tree (by Drax) Grooty (by Rocket) Sir Groot (by Mantis)
Profile information
Species	Flora Colossus
Origin	Planet X
Gender	Male
Eye color	Brown
Relatives	Unnamed father
Occupation	Bounty hunter (formerly) Mercenary
Affiliation	Arbor Masters (formerly) Bagoo! (formerly) Guardians of the Galaxy
Real-life information
Appears in	Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: No Guts, No Glory
Voiced by	Robert Montcalm
Debut	Tales to Astonish #13 (1960)
See Groot at Marvel Database.

Groot is one of the main characters in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. He is the last of the Flora Colossi from Planet X, and the inseparable partner of Rocket. Far more agreeable that his companion but with an extremely limited vocabulary, they both currently work as members of the team known as the Guardians of the Galaxy alongside Peter Quill, Gamora Zen-Whoberi and Drax.

Background

Hailing from Planet X (Taluhnia), Groot was son to the king and ruler of the planet. Although a prince by birthright, Groot wanted to be a forest caretaker instead, wanting to care for the plants that grew on his planet, but his father forbade it. As a sapling, Groot witnessed the cruelty of his people—saplings and Arbor Masters alike—towards the maintenance mammals, so Groot preferred the mammals' company for their intelligence and kindness.

At the start of the Galactic War, a Chitauri alien craft appeared on Planet X's orbit. Groot was sent by the Arbor Masters to greet the craft, piloting a diplomatic twigship to do so. It wasn't long before Groot saw their missile launch; unbeknownst to him, it was an experimental doomsday device that would destroy Planet X. The Branch Worlds soon followed, being destroyed as well, leaving Groot as the last of his kind. The fiery shockwave it caused tore through Groot and his vessel, leaving his body scorched and scattered among the debris. Only a splinter twig of Groot survived, dormant, floating in orbit until Taneleer Tivan's scavenger drones found him.

They retrieved Groot's limb and brought it before Tivan, who planted in a well-lit terrarium and watched it grow. As a sapling, Groot was a colossal spectacle in the Collector's Emporium, kept in a cage, until Rocket accidentally stole him. Broke and drunk, he decided to rob the Emporium on a whim; the morning after the robbery, Rocket woke up to find baby Groot among his loot. The two became partners-in-crime since, with Rocket vowing to take care of Groot and learning Taluhnisan.

For a decade or so, operating from Knowhere, Rocket and Groot worked as bounty hunters together. In one occasion, they were hired by Wheeler to steal a bioweapon from a research lab on Arago-7. To hide their identities, Groot wore a Thanos mask while Rocket wore Glarnot Mask; together; they easily made their way in and stole the bioweapon, only to realize that Arago scientists had hired Wheeler to lure the duo there to study them. They caught Groot and locked him in a cage, but Rocket reacted quickly and used explosives to free Groot and escape. Afterwards, the two ended up selling the weapon back to Wheeler for triple the price.

As bounty hunters, the duo accepted a contract to capture an ex-Ravager named Peter Quill, who had incurred the wrath of pirate ex-leader Yondu Udonta. However, they never claimed the bounty: When Peter proved unable to outrun Groot, he convinced the duo to start a business enterprise together, as "heroes-for-hire", called the Guardians of the Galaxy. More recently joined by Drax and Gamora Zen-Whoberi, even after fourteen missions together, they have yet to achieve success.

Personality

Sweet, level-headed and sefless, Groot is good-natured, loyal and friendly, but has no qualms in getting violent when needed or angry when sufficiently warranted. Should he get angry, Groot is forgiving of other's faults, and it is unlikely of him to remain in a bad mood for long. Instead, Groot is of the conciliatory type; however, since no one can accurately understand what he is saying (as no one in the team, except Rocket, understands Taluhnisan), he is often unable to intervene in disputes. On that note, while he often follow Rocket's lead, Groot often finds himself at odds with his volatility and often tries to make Rocket reconsider his stance, generally with little success.

Groot is an optimist and honest to a fault, not being good at bluffing, as well as modest, for which he dislikes making a show of his many formidable abilities. Groot is also very meticulous about grooming, such as making Rocket snip off the shoots on his back from time to time, even though—according to Rocket—nobody cares that they poke out. Groot likes to pet creatures, even dangerous ones, and can get easily distracted.

Groot is fond of collecting plants whenever the Milano goes, and has made a garden out of his room to make space feel like the home he lost, as gardening helps him find purpose and healing. As a coping mechanism to stress, Groot likes to water plants. Kind to animals ever since he was a sapling, as a result of Planet X's destruction, Groot seems to harbor a guilt complex regarding the death of the maintenance mammals he was friends with. As a result, Groot is very protective of mammals, immediately defending Kammy upon capture, and vowing to keep Rocket safe.

His thoughts and opinions usually filtered by Rocket and later Mantis, Groot usually finds himself mostly interacting with them. He finds Peter's attempts at conversation amusing, but is grateful for his positivity and supportive attitude nonetheless.

Gameplay

Groot is a non-playable ally who assists Peter in and out of battle. During level explorations, Groot can attach roots to moorings and create a bridge for the Guardians or he can lift platforms to higher ground. In battle, he is a vigorous defender, able to withstand large high amounts of damage. He focuses on crowd control; thanks to his Abilities, in early combat, he can entangle enemies and hold them in place for a while, while his Mega Ability Gift of the Florae will heal the party. Unlike the other Guardians, Groot has no weapons himself—he generates branches to attack—nor clothes, but has a Harness that Rocket uses to climbs on top of to shoot his Bye-Bye Engine.

Regarding items, besides his standard look, Groot has twelve other outfits (one inspired by the 2014 film, and four taken from the comics). He has three Collectibles related to his past:

• Broken Translation Device - Talk about translation issues and learning Taluhnisan.
• Cold Case File - Explains about the fate of Planet X and his life with the Collector.
• Deeproot Plant - Reveals via Mantis about his homeworld's maintenance mammals and his father.

Groot has several related trophies: "Dynamic Team", "Groot Canal", "Herbal Remedy", "Managerial Skills", and "Timber!".

Records

• Galactic Compendium
• Criminal File

GROOT

Groot is the last surviving flora colossus from Planet X, a world that served as an unwitting testbed for a Chitauri doomsday weapon. Groot was piloting a diplomatic twigship, sent by the Arbor Masters to greet the alien craft, when he saw the missile launch. The fiery shockwave tore through Groot and his vessel, leaving his body scorched and scattered among the debris.

Taneleer Tivan, the Collector, deployed scavengers to the remains of Planet X, where they retrieved a single viable twig floating in orbit. The Collector planted Groot's limb in a well-lit terrarium and watched it grow. The sapling would only shout "I am Groot" in defiance. Groot was a colossal spectacle in the grand collection until a masked bandit stole him.

Eventually, a much taller and more violent Groot was spotted on Knowhere, running bounty jobs alongside his new partner, Rocket. The duo accepted a contract to capture an ex-Ravager named Star-Lord, but the bounty was never claimed. It appears their target convinced them to join the mercenary group, the Guardians of the Galaxy.

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First appeared in Tales to Astonish #13
Writers: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber
Artists: Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, Artie Simek, Dick Ayers, Don Heck, Stan Goldberg
Cover Artists: Jack Kirby, Artie Smike, Dick Ayers, Stan Goldberg
Editor: Stan Lee

GROOT

THREAT LEVEL: Unknown
ALIAS: Unknown
STATUS: (1) Unpaid Fine
ORIGIN: Planet X

INDICTMENTS: Petty Theft, Trespassing, Intimidation, Assault, Resisting Arrest, Bribery, Blackmail, Extortion, Illegal Scavenging, Smuggling, Armed Robbery, Murder

NOTES: The being known only as "Groot" is the last recorded member of the Flora colossi of Planet X. He is frequently seen in the company of Subject 89P13.

Despite its association with Subject 89P13, the Worldmind feels that Groot can be rehabilitated with a failure margin of 0.423%. As such, the Worldmind has determined Groot to be a potential candidate for the Nova Corps.

ADDENDUM 1: A report of stolen property was submitted by Taneleer Tivan regarding theft of a Flora colossus. The Worldmind has chosen to disregard this report, as it violates several Galactic Treaties.

ADDENDUM 2: Groot has recently joined the "Gardeners of the Galaxy", a supposed legitimate business founded by Peter Jason Quill. Further monitoring will be required.

AFFILIATIONS: Arbor Masters, Bagoo! Bounty Hunters, Gardeners of the Galaxy

Gallery

Final concept by Bruno Gauthier-Leblanc.

In-engine render by Genci Buxheli.

Groot is sold to Lady Hellbender in Chapter 4.

Groot creates a light in the darkness in Chapter 10.

Fog Groot in Chapter 10.

Trivia

• Regarding his redesign, the inseparable nature of Groot and Rocket resulted in not only a complementary fighting style but also a visual design that played on the strengths of their bond. Groot's body armor was designed to reflect the look of armor plating from Japanese mech designs. Gauthier-Leblanc explains that their gear echoes their dynamic and how integral they are to one another. For instance, Groot wears a harness created by Rocket so he can climb up and fire away at enemies, and Rocket sports a bead-shaped like a mini-Groot in his goatee.