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There have been questions such as "what species is Groot" but what I'm wondering is what exactly he is. He appears obviously to be simply wood, but he is an alien creature not from Earth and never catches fire or anything. Plus, in Avengers: Infinity War Baby Groot

cuts off his arm to hold Thor's new ax. This doesn't burn through and is surprisingly durable, despite Groot seemingly being just wood.

And in Guardians of the Galaxy,

Groot wrapping himself around everyone helps them survive an explosion, something normal wood would likely be unable to do.

Does this have anything to do with his species? Is he just alien wood?

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  • 6
    Does he weigh the same as a duck?
    – Spencer
    Dec 18, 2018 at 21:08
  • 7
    I asked him (via twitter); i.stack.imgur.com/2TjND.png
    – Valorum
    Dec 18, 2018 at 22:05
  • 3
    I am not certain, but there is a fan theory that he is made from 'the tree of the world', mentioned in TFA.
    – Knox Boyd
    Dec 18, 2018 at 22:14
  • 2
    "Some say it's a flower. Some say it's a weed. I never gave it much thought." - Jim Stafford
    – Major Stackings
    Dec 19, 2018 at 8:55
  • 4
    According to Groot, "I am Groot."
    – Misha R
    Dec 20, 2018 at 5:03

2 Answers 2

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In his first appearance back in Tales to Astonish 13 (1960), he was a verbose alien conqueror who was immune to our puny Earth weapons . . . until a scientist infected him with termites. So a bazooka didn't scratch him but a bug could be fatal.

I think this set the stage for his invulnerability being inconsistent. His second appearance was against the Hulk and he seemed to have Hulk-like invincibility but later appearances made him seem like cheap cardboard.

Officially, he might be alien wood but his powers vary from writer to writer.

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  • Hardly the first alien menace to be felled by a bug....
    – RDFozz
    Dec 26, 2018 at 19:36
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It isn't confirmed by anyone, YET.

But I do think that there is a magical element at play here.

Once the axe was completely manufactured, a couple of things happened:

  1. Thor was seemingly healed of burns inflicted by the star.
  2. He was able to summon the ax to his hand and it seems the ax itself was enchanted with greater strength and power than even Uru should have granted it.

Many of the powerful Asgardian weapons used inscribed runes of power to imbue them with magical aspects, durability, lightweight and more. Heimdall's blade is likely a prime example of this, it's magic making it the key for the Bifrost.

While Groot's arm is no mere wood it does appear that these runic enchantments empower the weapon as a whole once assembled.

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  • “it seems the ax itself was enchanted with greater strength and power than even Uru should have granted it” — does it? How?
    – Paul D. Waite
    Dec 24, 2018 at 16:23

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