Every Major MCU Hero Death Ranked From Worst To Best
9. Groot
When the Guardians of the Galaxy first came together as a team, none of them had any previous relationships with each other, with the exception of Rocket and Groot. The latter acted as the former’s bodyguard, but barely knew the rest of the team.
However, after coming together with Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax, it didn’t take long before Groot felt such a connection with them that he sacrificed himself to save them. As they fell from the sky above Xandar, the Giving Tree embraced his new family, protecting them from the impact of the planet below.
What resulted was four Guardians of the Galaxy surviving to defeat Ronan the Accuser, and a pile of twigs that used to be Groot. This was an incredibly moving scene, and it’s impossible to watch him tell the others that “We are Groot” with a dry eye.
While this was technically the end of Groot, from his sacrifice and remains came the birth of Baby Groot. For lack of a better term, Baby Groot is essentially Groot’s son left to be raised by Rocket, and could never have joined the MCU if not for this selfless act.