5. Why Can Groot Only Say His Name?
Marvel ComicsIt's not like
complex thoughts are outside of his grasp, but yeah, right now Groot's distinguishing characteristics are being a walking tree that communicates using only the words "I am Groot" (cue lots of hi-larious jokes about that being the perfect role for Vin Diesel). He wasn't always that way, mind; certainly not in his original appearance, thanks to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who basically created ever big Marvel character together - in 1960's Tales to Astonish #13. Back then Groot's vocabulary was significantly more developed, and he was a bad guy! Still an alien, he invaded Earth in order to kidnap humans and use them in freaky experiments. The original Groot was destroyed using termites - yes, termites - and recreated to fight the Hulk, only to be destroyed again. He got brought back once more and worked for SHIELD for a time in their "Paranormal Containment Unit", before disappearing from comics entirely until Annihilation: Conquest. During which time he "died" twice more helping his new pals, the second time having grown to an enormous size and set on fire inside an enemy stronghold, totally destroying it. Rocket Raccoon managed to keep a hold of one of the saplings that grew on his new pal's wooden body, however, and eventually a new Groot grew out of that. A Groot who was no longer capable of saying anything other than "I am Groot." But here's the thing: he's not just saying that. It turns out that, as members of Groot's species get older, the organs of acoustic generation become stiff and inflexible. So to the untrained ear, he's just saying "I am Groot", but there are actually thousands of subtle nuances and permutations in how he pronounces it. If you're tuned into them, he talks like a regular person. If not, he sounds like a Pokemon. Helpful.
