Summary

• Groot has had eight different forms over his nine-year-long MCU career, showcasing his ability to grow and change physically.
• The original Groot was a warrior with a caring and comionate personality, sacrificing himself to protect his new family.
• Groot's latest form, dubbed "BIG Groot," is much larger, more muscular, and has a crown-shaped head, hinting at his growth and potential future in the MCU.

Over the last ten years of the MCU, Groot has taken many different forms in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. James Gunn's original Guardians of the Galaxy hit theaters in 2014, introducing the world to the obscure superhero team from Marvel Comics. Comprised of some of the weirdest characters in the MCU, the Guardians of the Galaxy came together in the MCU's Phase 2 to battle Ronan the Acc, and have since fought iconic Marvel villains including Ego the Living Planet, the Mad Titan Thanos, and the sinister High Evolutionary. While each of the Guardians of the Galaxy are strange characters, Groot is perhaps the most unusual.

Vin Diesel has voiced Groot since 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, though the range of his dialogue mostly falls within those now famous three words: "I am Groot." Groot is a Flora Colossus who was introduced as the friend and bodyguard to Bradley Cooper's Rocket before becoming a founding member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Two versions of Groot have been showcased, as the original sacrificed himself in Gunn's original film to save his new family, which means that Groot has perhaps seen the most growth (at least physically) out of any of the Guardians. Over the course of his nine-year-long MCU career, Groot has had eight impressive forms.

8 Original Groot

Phase 2's Guardians of the Galaxy introduced Groot in his final adult form, already having been traveling with Rocket for a number of years. The MCU's original Groot was taller and more slender than the current version, perhaps more closely resembling the physicality of a real-world tree. Groot was able to regrow severed limbs, which he did when Gamora lopped off his arms on Xandar, and was able to extend his body at will, which came in handy when stealing a battery necessary for the new Guardians of the Galaxy to escape the Kyln.

The MCU's original Groot was shown to have a warrior streak, quickly jumping into battle to protect Rocket in the Kyln, and even showing a great degree of brutality when battling Ronan's forces aboard his ship, the Dark Aster. However, Groot also demonstrated a caring and comionate personality. Groot was the only Guardian of the Galaxy who met the children on Knowhere with kindness, and Guardians of the Galaxy concluded with Groot sacrificing his life to protect his new family when Ronan's ship crashed. While it was a shame to lose this version of Groot, the spirit of the character lived on in his successor.

7 Sapling Groot

After Groot was destroyed in the crash of the Dark Aster in Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket collected a twig from his remains and, after planting it, watched as it sprouted into a live sapling. While many expected this version of Groot to grow into a clone of the original, the sapling and his subsequent forms have been confirmed to be the original Groot's son, which means their personalities are actually different while their powers might be the same. Quickly expressing what would become a trademark of the new Groot, Guardians of the Galaxy ended with the sapling Groot dancing in his pot, avoiding Drax the Destroyer's watchful eye.

The first episode of Phase 4's I am Groot, an animated series that explored Groot's life while the Guardians of the Galaxy weren't in battle, featured a grown version of the sapling Groot. This version had more of the physical attributes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's Baby Groot, but began with him still planted in his pot. After falling to the floor and breaking free from his pot, viewers saw the MCU's current version of Groot take his first, adorable steps. The fact that Groot can reproduce by having a sapling planted - akin to real-world plants - means the character could be around in the MCU forever.

6 Baby Groot

Baby Groot was the primary version depicted in 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, broken free from his pot and now more confident in his legs. This Groot is also the focus of Marvel Studios' I am Groot, which is set to release its second season on September 6, 2023. Much like his younger form, Baby Groot was shown to love dancing, but also demonstrates some of the same brutality as his father, particularly when he helped Yondu and Rocket take down the Ravager mutineers. Baby Groot looked up to each of the Guardians of the Galaxy as his parental figures, and this would continue in his future appearances.

5 Teenage Groot

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's post-credits scene introduced audiences to a moody teenager version of Groot, who was also showcased in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Love and Thunder. This version of Groot was more focused on playing video games than actually helping his team, though he soon realized the worth of being a hero when he sacrificed his arm to create a handle for Thor's new weapon, Stormbreaker. This version of Groot fell victim to Thanos' snap in Infinity War, just when he had begun to embrace his heroic place on the Guardians of the Galaxy, but returned to fight alongside his family in Endgame's final battle.

4 Swole Groot

Groot saw major growth in the time between Thor: Love and Thunder and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, as the latter introduced audiences to a young adult, more muscular version of Groot, who has been dubbed "Swole Groot" by James Gunn. Although being larger and bulkier than his previous depictions, Swole Groot retained the fun-loving personality of his younger forms. This version was the first sign viewers had that the MCU's current Groot is vastly different from the original version, as his physical form is far different, potentially because he has grown up in battle with the Guardians of the Galaxy, rather than having a more peaceful backstory.

3 Kaiju Groot

2023's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 featured Swole Groot for the most part, but also included several other variations on the tree-like character. One of these variations was introduced when the Guardians landed on the High Evolutionary's Counter-Earth, as Nebula urges Groot to transform into his "kaiju" form to frighten the Animen inhabitants of Counter-Earth. This saw Groot expand the space between his wooden body parts, allowing him to grow into a massive size, and this version of Groot even showed off his tongue - making funny faces at the Animen to scare them away. Kaiju Groot didn't last long, as he soon returned to his "swole" form.

2 Winged Groot

After Peter Quill launched himself and Recorder Theel off the High Evolutionary's ship, Groot jumped after them and demonstrated a completely new ability in the MCU. Still in his Swole Groot form, Groot surprisingly grew huge wings from his back, formed out of branches and leaves, which allowed him to save Star-Lord's life, while Theel was killed in pursuit of Rocket's information in his memory drive. Groot growing wings came as a huge shock to audiences, but it was a fantastic new ability for Groot to demonstrate in the MCU, proving that the character can still surprise viewers even after so many previous appearances.

1 BIG Groot

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ended with the original team disbanding, though Rocket and Groot stayed on as core of the team. The pair were ed by Kraglin, Cosmo, Adam Warlock, Blurp, and Phyla in Vol. 3's mid-credits scene, which presumably took place some time after the main story of the film, as Groot was shown to have grown even further. Now an adult, the MCU's Groot is much larger than even the original version, much more muscular, and his head has formed into a crown shape. It would be brilliant to see this Groot return in the MCU's future, though this hasn't been confirmed by Marvel Studios.