In the Marvel Comics series "Annihilation: Conquest - Starlord," Groot is introduced and speaks normally. However, in "Annihilation: Conquest," which is the mini-series immediately following "Starlord," he only says the phrase "I am Groot" repeatedly. This continues through to "Guardians of the Galaxy." The "Starlord" mini-series was written by Keith Giffen, whereas "Annihilation: Conquest" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" were written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Was this simply something that was changed between writers? Is it ever explained why Groot went from speaking normally to only saying "I am Groot"?
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3Well to be accurate, he also said "we are groot"– HuangismNov 13, 2014 at 16:18
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9... I am Groot.– OmegacronJan 12, 2015 at 18:42
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4 Answers
Apparently Groot used to speak quite a bit.
There are conflicting explanations of why Groot's speech deteriorated, so it's probably just different writers interpretations of the character. The "official" explanation (quoted from Wikipedia) is:
The mature form of Groot's species is robust and heavyweight, which causes the organs of acoustic generation to become stiff and inflexible. It is this hardened nature of Groot's larynx that causes people, who are oblivious to the subtle nuances of his speech, to misinterpret him as merely repeating his name.
However, Groot has "died" and regenerated from a sprig on several occasions, and he's had the ability to speak normally both when he was very small (a sapling?) and when he appears to be in a very mature form.
The alternative in-universe explanation is that Groot simply lost the ability to speak normally on one of the occasions where he was destroyed and subsequently regenerated.
answered Sep 20, 2012 at 13:50
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2Or it could be that the one phrase is it, the limit. But its use is so varied, it can substitute for a dictionary full of words. As a famous Librarian once said about the whole subject - "Ook."– ivanivanAug 3, 2017 at 4:30
It has not been specifically addressed, as far as I can tell.
However, we recently got solid confirmation that both his speech degradation, and his inability to grow back to full size, were abnormal states for him. In Infinity Countdown #1, the Guardians confront the cosmic elder being known as the Gardener, whose had been creating an army of vicious Groots. However, that's because the Gardener hasn't been well. Groot helps with that:
Returned to normal, the Gardener immediately realizes that Groot himself is in a damaged state:
And, the Gardener heals Groot, restoring him both to his normal stature, and his full vocabulary:
His first few incarnations are new. Groot appeared in his first comic in a time without heroes: a place long ago. Groot probably just got a bad throat becease he's been around for so long. ... Groot must be very old by now. So it must sound like I am Groot but he is actually saying proper words... Just badly.
In short: His throats was flexible but was stiffened with age
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The person who says about the official answer said about the modern Groot. He doesn't know about the others. His throats got bad is the non-complex way of saying it– CatMay 7, 2017 at 15:19
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Groot probably just doesn't know English since he is from another planet. The people who wrote Annihilation: Conquest weren't going by the traditional storyline. Also, in Annihilation: Conquest Groot does not seem to be part of the guardians of the galaxy (just noting something)
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Also, Groot does not specifically regrow (as a normal plant would) when he comes back to life. He can grow at will Apr 16, 2014 at 2:17
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