Is Groot a Super Hero or a Villain? Comic History Explained

Groot is easily one of the most likable characters in the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ franchise of movies, and the franchise is also the primary reason why this old character amassed such a planetary popularity in a relatively short amount of time. Fans took a liking to a loveable talking tree, with only a few lines of dialogue, as well as his wholesome and pure behavior. But it might surprise you that Groot we’ve seen in the movies, and his latest version in the comics are nothing like the original character that appeared in ‘I Challenged… Groot! The Monster from Planet X! released in 1960. This is why we decided to explore whether Groot was ever a villain in the story. 

Groot was originally introduced in Marvel Comics as a villain when he came to Earth seeking experiments to capture and study. Then in 2016, during ‘Annihilation,’ Groot was re-introduced to the universe as a loveable Flora Colossi from Planet X banished from his planet for being too kind. The old Groot introduced in 60′ was then referred to as a separate version of the character, making ‘Annihilation’ Groot’s first visit to planet Earth and making him the hero we know and love today. 

Now that we’ve given you a short history of Groot, it’s time to explore it in more detail. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading!

Groot was, in the beginning, a very different character than the one we’ve seen in the GotG franchise 

There are a lot of characters in the Marvel Comics Universe that were introduced several decades ago and eventually forgotten about for a long time until their origins and personalities were retconned and repurposed, and Groot is one of them. 

Groot was originally introduced in ‘I Challenged… Groot! The Monster from Planet X!’ #13 released in 1960. The character was created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Dick Ayers, and he was a far cry from the loveable tree we came to know and love in the last couple of years. 

During his first comic appearance, Groot landed on Earth, coming from far away Galaxy, and he happened upon Leslie Evans and his wife, Alice, both scientists. Groot made his intentions known as he continued growing and becoming larger as the minutes passed by. 

Groot claimed that he was looking for smaller human species so he could take them back to his home planet and experiment on them. Groot ventured to the nearby community, and his attacks were impossible to resist seeing that his bark was nearly impenetrable and he had seemingly unlimited strength at his disposal. 

Over the period of the next three days, Groot utilized the nearby forest to create an army for himself, animating various trees and plant life. Using the plants and root system, Groot raised the whole town he terrorized in the air, planning to bring it to space. 

This is where Evans appeared again. He worked for days in his lab trying to breed a special weapon with which he would take this abominable plant down. Evans bred a special type of termites and unleashed them near Groot. The termites attacked, started eating through Groot’s hide, and eventually made their way to his core. Groot collapsed into shock and eventually passed away.

Years later, this original Groot’s name was changed into Groot XXCVII, marking him as a different version of GotG Groot. 

The second version of Groot appeared much later in a much friendlier role 

Now that you know Groot’s real origin story, it’s hard to connect that invading alien with the loveable tree (and sapling) we met during the events of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies. This is because Groot’s origin story was eventually rewritten during the ‘Annihilation’ event. 

The modern version of Groot debuted in ‘Annihilation: Conquest – Starlord’ #1. He belongs to a species called Flora Colossi from a mysterious planet called Planet X. 

Planet X is obviously a place where Groot’s kind lives and thrives. They are a highly intelligent but vicious race with irrational hatred toward mammals. However, a few mammals have been inhabiting the planet, mostly for maintenance purposes, as Flora Colossi considers them to be an inferior life form. 

Groot was always different. However, he never got along with the rest of his species and often searched for the companionship of maintenance mammals.  

One day Groot met a young girl, a human that was supposed to take part in the experiments, unwillingly, if I may add. Groot decided to free her and save her life, and even though the girl escaped, Groot remained to pay the price. He was exiled from his home world and banished the wander the Universe. 

Groot had a hard time adjusting to other cultures, mostly because of the problems in communication with other species. Due to their extra hard and unmalleable larynx, Groot species can only communicate in a few words. In Groot’s case, this phrase is “I am Groot.’ 

Following his exile from Planet X, Groot was captured by the Kree, where he met Rocket Raccoon for the first time, they shared a jail cell, and Rocket was not happy at all that he needed to share personal space with a giant tree, he wasn’t friendly toward Groot at all. Rocket’s resolve eventually vanished when the two were forced to team up in order to defend themselves from their Kree captors. 

And there you have it. Groot was originally a villain, but the character was majorly reworked, and due to Groot’s inclusion in the MCU, he evolved into one of the most notable superheroes in the franchise. 

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!

Liked this article? Join the community on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!