Groot

Groot () is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #13 (November 1960). An extraterrestrial, sentient tree-like creature, the original Groot first appeared as an invader that intended to capture humans for experimentation. The character's speech capability is limited to the phrase "I am Groot", which can have different meanings depending on context. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise, Star-Lord, Thor, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer and, eventually, Nebula, daughter of Thanos are able to understand him. The character was reintroduced as an heroic, noble being in 2006, and appeared in the crossover comic book storyline Annihilation: Conquest. Groot went on to star in its spin-off series, Guardians of the Galaxy, joining the team of the same name. Groot has been featured in a variety of associated Marvel media, including animated television series, toys and trading cards. Vin Diesel voices Groot in the MCU, starting in the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy, with Krystian Godlewski playing the initial incarnation of the character via performance capture and James Gunn doing so for his reborn offspring, colloquially known as "Baby Groot".