He's big, he's wooden, and he makes one thing perfectly clear: He is Groot. Marvel's talking
tree has taken the world by storm, despite his minimal vocabulary. But few know his story
in its entirety. From the alien arborists to the terrifying termites, this is Groot's
backstory.
Moviegoing audiences across the galaxy know him as a hero, but believe it or not, Groot
began his career on the comic book page as a bad guy. He made his debut in 1960's Tales
to Astonish #13, where he was billed as "The Monster From Planet X," and like a lot of
the baddies in Marvel's monster comics, he initially meets an ironic end.
When he lands on Earth, Groot encounters a biologist named Leslie Evans, whose study
focus is bugs. He might seem outclassed by a giant talking tree and his army of fellow
Flora Colossi, but he winds up being humanity's secret weapon. Despite being a seemingly invulnerable
giant bent on conquering Earth, Groot is still made of wood, and winds up being laid low
by one of the most destructive forces on the planet: termites.
After that, he descended into the same kind of obscurity as a lot of the other monsters
with names like Rommbu or Moomba who took up shelf space in Marvel's pre-superhero monster
comics. He would reappear occasionally, and encountered the Hulk in 1976 alongside five
other Marvel monsters. Groot in particular is defeated when the Hulk beats him to splinters
with a couple of rocks, effective, but significantly less clever than termites.
Beyond that, his best known appearance came in an issue of Sensational Spider-Man, when
he was the subject of one of Peter Parker's nightmares. That makes sense, too. For a born
and bred New Yorker who needs skyscrapers to swing from, what would be scarier than
a big ol' tree?
Groot has had a few diversions on his journey from monstrous antagonist to heroic moviestar.
As you might expect, it's a gnarled, branching backstory with its roots in some pretty weird
comics.
You might be surprised to learn that he was actually once an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., as
revealed in the pages of 2006's Nick Fury's Howling Commandos. In this story, the Howling
Commandos are a group of monstrous villains conscripted by Fury to fight their fellow
forces of evil. Fury uses his recruitment pitch on a version of Groot that still has
his pre-Guardians evil tendencies and convinces him to join his elite team of cryptids, myths,
and monsters. His compatriots include Bigfoot, Frankenstein, a vampire, a werewolf, and a
man trapped in a Gorilla's body, among others. Together, they team up with the Son of Satan
and save Earth from an attack by Merlin, the wizard from Camelot. Now that's a story we'd
like to see make its way to the MCU.
Another weird adventure that was every bit as strange as his stint in the Howling Commandos
came when Groot and Rocket encountered Venom.
"I am Venom."
Yes, that Venom: Spider-Man's brain-eating former costume turned villain from beyond
the stars. In 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy #21 found Groot taken over by the symbiote.
Fortunately, Drax tears the pair apart before it can really bond with Groot, never getting
beyond the surface. It seems that this time, Venom was…all bark.
Despite being vast and infinite, Marvel's version of outer space is actually a pretty
small world. It was really only a matter of time before Groot had a run-in with the Kree,
one of Marvel's most prominent alien empires. They're powerful, militaristic, and don't
tend to take things lightly, so naturally, our favorite wooden misfit clashes with their
worldview.
The Annihilation: Conquest storyline that kickstarted Groot's ascent to popularity finds
the Kree in the midst of yet another universe-spanning war, this time against a robotic hivemind
called the Phalanx. When the time comes for the Kree to recruit a shaggy space pirate
and give him a team of also-rans to stop a galactic apocalypse, they pull Groot out of
space jail and throw him into battle with some other D-List Marvel obscurities that
might seem a little more familiar these days than they were in 2007: Peter Quill, Drax,
Rocket Racoon, and Gamora.
Groot's years of languishing in obscurity were pretty unremarkable, but as Marvel has
shown us time and time again, even the most obscure weirdo on their roster is only one
story away from being a superstar. For Groot, that happened in 2007, when he was brought
back to Annihilation: Conquest as a member of a team of misfits that would evolve into
the Guardians of the Galaxy. Rather than a world conquering monster, Groot was reimagined
as a more empathetic hero with a smaller vocabulary.
"I am Groot."
"Yeah, you said that."
According to the 2013 Guardians of the Galaxy comic, Groot comes from a noble...branch of
the family, destined for great power and position. Sadly, he is not a match for the culture of
Planet X and its rulers, the "Arbor Masters," disagreeing with their tendency towards kidnapping
and experimenting on other sentient creatures,. Ultimately, Groot is exiled when he defends
one of the "maintenance mammals" looked down upon by his brethren and their masters. Thus
begins his journey throughout space, and ultimately, to the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Groot and Rocket Raccoon had instant chemistry with each other once they were on the same
team, becoming fast friends. As alluded to in the films, Rocket is the result of a bleak
program of animal experimentation, and Groot, whose heart has always been moved by the plights
of the powerless, takes a liking to Rocket immediately. Of course, it helps that Rocket,
unlike most sentient creatures, can understand his speech.
Rocket Raccoon takes his role as Groot's best friend seriously. More than once, he's rescued
Groot after the tree creature was killed. Since Groot can be regrown from small slivers,
Rocket will often collect a small shard of his fallen friend and replant him, caring
for him until he's grown. In this sense, the furry friend is a little like Planet X's "Arbor
Masters." But unlike them, he loves Groot for who he is, and considers his compassion
an asset instead of a liability.
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