Before Groot was the gentle giant fans know and love today, he was a monster.
Literally.
A 125-foot-tall, rampaging alien monster.
He stayed that way for 45 years, too, until a sudden and unexpected turn transformed him
into a hero and paved the way for his membership in the Guardians of the Galaxy.
But during his five decades as a villain, Groot caused quite a few problems — and,
honestly, that didn't really stop when he joined the side of the angels.
As one of Marvel's monsters, Groot terrified countless humans.
As a hero, he's always in danger of returning to his villainous, uh, roots.
Here are just a few of the ways Groot has terrorized the Marvel Universe.
Overlord of timber
It's hard to believe, but back in the early days of Marvel Comics, Groot was there right
from the beginning, even before The Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk burst onto the
scene.
In 1960's Tales to Astonish #13, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby published a story called "I
Challenged Groot!
The Monster from Planet X," in which a tree-like beast crashes to Earth and attempts to kidnap
the population of an entire city, hoping to take his prisoners back to his home world
for nefarious experiments.
Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but superheroes didn't exist in the Marvel Universe
yet, so the village was officially boned.
That's because Groot isn't any normal alien.
He calls himself the "overlord of all the timber in the galaxy" and gets stronger by
absorbing wood — no, really.
And not only can Groot talk, but he towers above the villagers like some kinda Woodzilla,
destroying everything in his path.
Groot brings the local forest to life and begins rounding up his human subjects.
Until, of course, one lowly scientist discovers Groot's only weakness: termites.
As the insects chomp away at Groot's wooden body, the creature withers and dies, leaving
Earth safe — for now.
Hulk smashed
The next time the Monster from Planet X appears is in The Incredible Hulk Annual #5, in which
a recurring Marvel villain named Xemnu wants to challenge the not-so-jolly green giant.
To do so , he resurrects Groot and a handful of other old Marvel monsters — real cool
guys with names like Goom and The Electrifying Blip.
Y'know...winners!
After smashing his way through a fifth-dimensional demon named Diablo and a mud monster called
Taboo, Groot takes his shot at the Bruce Banner's bigger half.
Groot's branches nearly choke the life out of the Hulk, while planting his roots in the
ground makes Groot impervious to the Hulk's gamma-powered punches.
Groot even whips out a wave of razor-sharp thorns which seem all set to finish the Hulk
off for good.
But all of these attacks make Hulk angry, and you know how that goes.
Hulk blocks Groot's attacks with a stone, which he proceeds to use to beat Groot into
a splintered stump.
But that wouldn't be the end of Groot — not by a longshot.
Breakout
Groot is a hard guy to keep down — remember, he's grown back from a twig more than once.
In the 2005 one-shot Monsters on the Prowl, readers learn that, at some point in the past,
the intergalactic super-nerd known as the Collector rounded up all of Marvel's other
classic monsters and locked them away in an underground prison.
That's weird and vaguely sinister, but relatively safe — at least until Mole Man busts the
prison wide open, freeing Groot and the whole monster party.
The army of monsters make their way from Canada to New York, where they start stomping everything
in sight.
Unfortunately for them, Marvel's "good" monsters — the Thing, the Hulk, Giant-Man, and Beast
— are on the scene.
Most of the monsters are easy pickings for the experienced superheroes, but Groot puts
up a bit more of a fight, using his roots to tangle up the Thing and Hulk.
But ultimately, he's defeated by the team of heroes and locked away — although, obviously,
not for good.
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Groot's road to redemption begins in 2005's Nick Fury's Howling Commandos mini-series,
but not before the arbor-alien gets in a few more licks.
Under the leadership of S.H.I.E.L.D.
agent Clay Quartermain, the Howling Commandos are a band of monsters charged with hunting
and capturing other monsters — and that includes Groot.
Quartermain and his team find Groot hiding in a forest, but the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents plaster
Groot with sonic weapons, eventually capturing the titanic tree.
Groot's prison term is short-lived.
The evil wizard Merlin sends an army of goblins and other supernatural creatures to attack
the Howling Commandos' base.
Quartermain opens the prison doors, freeing Groot and the other prisoners, causing a stampede
that turns the tide of the battle.
While the other monsters flee, Groot stays behind and helps the team.
Traveling on Groot's back, the Howling Commandos take the fight to Merlin's stronghold and
put the wizard in his place — and give Groot the redemption that he desperately craves.
We are Groot
Here's the big twist: the Groot who joined the Guardians of the Galaxy might not be the
same one who terrorized Earth for 50 years, since, apparently, everyone on Planet X is
named Groot.
"GROOT, GROOT, GROOT, GROOT, GROOT!"
That theory is confirmed in Guardians of the Galaxy #14, which explores Groot's origins.
Before he left home, Groot lived peacefully on Planet X, where a group of squirrel-like
"maintenance mammals" keep the forests in tip-top shape.
One day, some young saplings decide to harass one of the small critters, and that's when
the trouble starts.
Another young Groot — presumably, our Groot — intervenes, saving the little creature's
life.
As the maintenance mammals thank the heroic Groot for his interference, the other Groots
attack again, and that's when good-guy-Groot tears them into pieces.
As punishment, the ruling Groots exile him from Planet X.
Depending on how you look at it, Groot is either a bully, a murderer, or both — so,
in a way, it doesn't matter if he's the same Groot who debuted back in 1960.
He's damaged goods no matter what.
Groot, destroyer of worlds
Technically, this isn't something terrible that Groot has done — it's something that
he'll do in about 30 years, according to an elaborate virtual-reality simulation.
Rocket Raccoon #9 flashes forward to 2046, and we see that Groot has returned to his
original, colossal size and plows through New York.
He also plows through his longtime sparring partner, the Hulk, who becomes a snack for
the rampaging monster.
As Iron Man explains, the Avengers tried to use Groot's regeneration powers to cure all
diseases.
But, as is often the case when it comes to comic book science, the process backfired,
turning Groot into a giant, mindless beast.
Tony Stark tracks Rocket down and tries to enlist his help, but Rocket is old and bitter
and wants nothing to do with any of Earth's heroes.
Meanwhile, the rampaging Groot tears S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier in half, sending Steve Rogers
plummeting to his death.
Iron Man soon follows, smooshed under Groot's wooden fist.
Rocket finally arrives, half-drunk, and transforms his ship into a giant mech to fight Groot,
but it's no match for Groot's raw strength.
He tears both the robot and his furry friend to pieces.
Still, it's not all in vain.
Rocket's sacrifice snaps Groot back to his senses and transforms the monster into a giant,
life-giving tree, while Rocket goes down in history as one of the world's most important
heroes.
"I am groot!"
"That's a really bad sign."
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