The tree creature made its first official live-action debut in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1. Ever since Groot has become an integral part of the FOTG franchise. He is not only a reason of comic relief; he has a rather unique skill set that makes him invaluable as an asset to the Avengers. Groot is not your typical superhero. But he sure hides some secrets of his own like one. The Groot you know and love is not at all how he seems to be. We are here to clear that doubt of yours. Presenting – 10 Weirdly fascinating facts about Groot we wonder why Marvel is hiding from us!!
10. He is royalty
Star-Lord is not the only one who has special parentage. In the comic book universe, Groot is actually a prince. He belongs to a faraway planet that is yet to be explored colloquially called Planet X. Groot is the first of his kind to actually venture out of his home and into the untested void of space. Groot belongs to a group of the sentient plant-like species called the Flora Colossi, who worship the royal family in which Groot is the sole heir to the throne. And this is exactly why we wonder why we do not see Groot mention his Royal family every now and then in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It would have been so cool.
9. He is the last of his kind
Now to burst your bubble, Groot’s history is not all roses. In the comics, it is shown that Groot is the last of his kind. His people have gone extinct. In the year of 2007, an issue titled Annihilation Conquest: Star-Lord #2 reveals that the Flora Colossi, the species that Groot belongs to, is no more. Groot escaped their common fate because he was not there on his planet to die along with the rest of them. 2011 gave us Annihilators #11. This issue claimed that Groot was no longer alone, that an entire forest of Flora Colossi had managed to survive on Planet X. That status quo was changed again in Guardians Tem-Up #8 in 2015, where Groot is again relegated to the position of the last surviving Flora Colossi.
8. He is not worthy of Thor’s power
After Infinity War showed us that Groot managed to lift Thor’s Stormbreaker axe, the fan base went insane. It showed that Groot is worthy of the power of Thor and several fan theories came into existence revolving around that very fact. It was later revealed that Groot is not necessarily worthy of the power of Thor since the weapon he lifted was not Mjolnir but Stormbreaker. It was Odin who cast an enchanted spell on Mjolnir allowing only the worthy to wield its power. But since Stormbreaker was made in Nidavellir and Odin was already dead at the time, it means literally anybody could have picked up the Stormbreaker.
7. He is a genius
Do not let his limited vocabulary fool you. Believe it or not, Groot is an extraordinarily smart individual. In Planet X, the Flora Colossi is led by a group of individuals called the Arbor Masters with the primary purpose of documenting, seeking and storing knowledge for the Flora Colossi. The knowledge they have accumulated is infinite since they have been doing it since time immemorial. Since Groot is Flora Colossi Royalty, he has access to that vast array of knowledge. The Arbor Masters only grant such access to the Royal family of Planet X. Whoever holds the most knowledge is by default the ruler of the species. Groot may know only three words but he has the combined knowledge of an entire species within his head.
6. He started out as a villain who hunted humans
Groot was not at all the good guy when he made his first official comic book debut in Marvel Comics. Hailing from Planet X, Groot’s real purpose of coming to Earth as to capture humans and experiment on them to see if they could be turned into plant-human hybrids. Leslie Evans, popular Marvel Comics biologist and his wife Alice, managed to defeat the tree monster by infesting his body with termites. That did not hold him back for long. He later ended up in the Collector’s Zoo in a highly weakened state until Shield captured him and managed to reform him into the good guy he is known as today.
5. He can resurrect himself but he will have no past memories
When Groot died at the end of GOTG Vol. 1 and Baby Groot took his place, we were so happy that the Groot we fell in love with is still there, alive and kicking. We could not have been more wrong. Groot does have the power to resurrect himself from the smallest of twigs left behind but there is a drawback to that ability. Groot will come back from the dead but each time he does, he will have no memories of his past self. This means that the Groot we see now is completely different from the Groot we loved back then. That guy is probably smiling from the Garden of Eden, watching over us all with a wooden smirk.
4. Venom Groot
His heart and mind are as pure and innocent as a child but Groot does have a rather terrifying exterior look. What happens when you manage to make it look even scarier? That is exactly what happened in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy #22. Flash Thompson aka Agent Venom joins the Outlaw team and puts the Guardians at risk when the Venom Symbiote starts acting weird. It gets out of Venom’s body and latches on to Groot, who then becomes a huge and frightening persona with spikes and black vines coming out of his body and limbs. Drax the Destroyer manages to rip the Symbiote out of Groot’s body but it then latches itself to Rocket Raccoon and all hell soon breaks loose.
3. A genetic disorder is the reason he can speak only three words
A degenerative disease genetically encoded into their bodies is the reasons the entire vocabulary capabilities of the Flora Colossi is limited to just three words. When they are children, they can speak as fluently as any adult human being. The degenerative disease takes effect when they hit puberty, where their larynxes shrivel up and close and they are forced to utter only three words that make up their entire language – I am Groot.
2. He was cloned
Xenmu is an alien Titan overlord that has tried to conquer the Earth several times. If not for the Hulk’s interference, he just might have managed to succeed. To stop the Hulk from preventing him to execute his world domination plans. Xenmu decided he must use the only superhero he knew could withstand the Hulk and even give him a run for his money. Xenmu kidnapped Groot, used his DNA to create a human-Groot duplicate and made him fight the Hulk. The Incredible Hulk was almost pushed to the corner by this monstrous creation before he managed to turn the tables and destroy the genetic experiment for good.
1. Baby Groot is the unofficial Earth Day ambassador
Groot’s unique skill-set makes him a natural hippie. He does not even have to be a tree hugger to spread awareness about protecting plant and animal life. Groot is born of nature and Marvel decided to use his distinct origin story to help the world become a greener, more eco-friendly place. Marvel Studios made a deal with Disney Conservation Fund and Nature Conservancy to become the unofficial mascot of Earth Day. The campaign was a he success and managed to sway a lot of fans before the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.
Avengers: Endgame is set for release on 26th April, 2019. The official film synopsis of the movie has been recently released and it states:
“After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.”
