Swole Groot's History
The Guardians of the Galaxy bought Knowhere from the Collector to rebuild it after it was destroyed by Thanos. The Guardians were also joined by a superpowered dog named Cosmo and they acquired a new ship as their main source of transportation.
Groot was present when Bzermikitokolok and the Knowheremen performed a Christmas song for Peter Quill. Groot jumped and danced around to the music. Later, Mantis got Groot all ready for a Christmas celebration. As Quill walked out, Groot carted out a huge present for Quill. When Quill opened it, he was mad to see Kevin Bacon, realizing that Mantis kidnapped him.
Groot remarked at how he knew it was a bad idea, but Quill called him out, saying that he literally just carted the present out. When Bacon decided to stay, he sang with the band as everyone celebrated. Quill gave Groot his very own GameBoy, causing Groot to hop in happiness. Feeling in the Christmas spirit, Groot gave everyone their own wood carvings. He gave Mantis a carving of her listening to Kraglin Obfonteri. he gave Quill one of Drax and Mantis kidnapping Bacon. He gave Drax one of him flipping police cars. He gave Nebula one of Bacon's gifts being opened. And lastly, he gave Obfonteri one of him opening up that very same present.
When Bacon left, Rocket Raccoon got Groot to stand like a Christmas tree as he and Cosmo decorated. However, Groot got tired and put down his arms. Cosmo remarked at how Groot ruined Christmas. Rocket remarked that they had to do another special.
Sometime after the rebuilding of Knowhere, Groot and the other Guardians looked after Quill, who had fallen into deep alcoholism and depression over losing Gamora. After a drunken Quill was put to bed to rest by Nebula, they were soon attacked by Adam Warlock, a superpowered being created by the Sovereign as revenge against the Guardians, who was sent by the High Evolutionary to retrieve Rocket. After Adam overpowered Nebula, Groot fought Adam and attempted to trap him with his branches but Adam flew up and destroyed Groot's body and branches during their fight, leaving just Groot's head behind. After Nebula stabbed Adam and forced him to flee Knowhere, Groot grew spider-like legs and tended to the injured Drax who had also been overpowered by Adam. Once Groot regrew his body and Drax recovered from the attack, Groot and the other Guardians tended to the unconscious Rocket, who had been seriously wounded by Adam during the attack, in hope of treating him. However, as a kill switch inside Rocket meant that they were unable to treat his wounds using Med-Paks, the Guardians decided to travel to the Orgoscope, headquarters of the High Evolutionary's company Orgocorp, in the hopes of finding an override code to deactivate Rocket's kill switch.
While traveling to the Orgoscope on the Bowie, Groot and the other Guardians encountered the Ravagers and the alternate Gamora who had secretly been summoned by Nebula to help them, with Gamora having joined the Ravagers after the Battle of Earth. The Ravagers provided spacesuits to the Guardians before leaving while Gamora remained to assist them. Groot remained on the Bowie to look after Rocket while the other Guardians and Gamora wore the spacesuits and entered the Orgoscope to retrieve Rocket's file. Once they retrieved Rocket's file, Nebula called Groot to bring the Bowie to collect them and Groot arrived in time to rescue them, with Drax and Nebula having been wounded by the Orgoscope guards and their spacesuits having been accidentally ejected into space after their arrival there.
On the Bowie, the Guardians then viewed Rocket's file which revealed the experimentation and torture he underwent at the hands of the High Evolutionary. However, as the file did not contain the override code to deactivate Rocket's kill switch, Groot helped them determine that the override code was with the Orgocorp Scientist Theel in the Arête Laboratories, in reality the High Evolutionary's ship, at Counter Earth. They then decided to go to Counter Earth to retrieve the code despite the protests of Gamora.
After arriving in Counter Earth, they encountered Humanimals who were created by High Evolutionary. After Drax accidentally knocked out a Humanimal child when returning her ball, it almost resulted in a fight with the Humanimals during which Groot enlarged himself to stop them but got resolved when Quill communicated with a Humanimal named Neelie, who took them to her house where they also met her husband Till and their children, and Groot reverted back to his normal size. At Neelie's house, Groot attempted to stop Drax from falling asleep on the couch, telling Drax that it was rude, before Neelie revealed the location of the Arête Laboratories. Groot travelled to the Arête Laboratories on Till's car with Quill and Nebula, while Drax and Mantis were ordered by Quill to stay behind with Gamora to protect Rocket.
Once they arrived, Nebula was forced to wait outside due to her cybernetics being counted as weapons while Quill and Groot entered the ship. Inside the ship, they confronted the High Evolutionary over his intentions and his experimentation of Rocket and also found Theel. Using blasters hidden inside Groot's body, Groot and Quill fought off the High Evolutionary's men and jumped off the ship with Theel while the High Evolutionary decided to destroy Counter Earth and its inhabitants. Groot extended his branches to glide them and land safely with Quill, killing Theel in the process and allowing them to retrieve the override code from Theel's head.
Groot and Quill then met up with Gamora who flew the Bowie to them after protecting Rocket from being captured, also capturing Adam when he attempted to attack them again and taking his pet Blurp with them, allowing them to escape from Counter Earth before the planet exploded. Meanwhile, unknown to them, Nebula entered the Arête Laboratories to escape the planet with Mantis and Drax, with Drax having disobeyed Quill's order to protect Rocket and Gamora and taken Mantis with him to Nebula.
They then attempted to implement the override code, however Rocket flatlined during the process, despairing both Quill and Groot. Despite Gamora protesting that there was nothing they could do for Rocket, Quill responded that he would not lose Rocket and used CPR on Rocket's heart, allowing the override code to be successfully implemented. This disabled Rocket's kill switch and revived Rocket, who was then given a Med Pack to cure his injuries. Groot and Quill were both overjoyed and embraced Rocket, with Gamora also visibly moved by Rocket's recovery.
They then established contact with Nebula and informed her, Drax and Mantis about Rocket's recovery. However, High Evolutionary then captured and imprisoned Nebula, Drax and Mantis before contacting Quill, threatening to kill Nebula, Drax and Mantis unless they gave him Rocket. They then travelled back to the Arête Laboratories to rescue Nebula, Mantis and Drax, with Quill also informing Kraglin to bring Knowhere to the Arête Laboratories in order to help them. After Groot and Rocket split from Quill and Gamora on two pods, they battled the High Evolutionary's Hell Spawn and men, during which Adam broke free and attacked Quill and Gamora but they escaped with Blurp after Quill activated the self-destruct code to destroy the Bowie, trapping Adam inside. Groot and Rocket arrived at the ship with them and reunited with Nebula, Mantis and Drax, who had already escaped their imprisonment using some Abilisks. Quill initially intended to leave the ship after retrieving Nebula, Mantis and Drax, but the three of them informed them that there were many Star Children imprisoned on the ship and that they needed to rescue them.
Although Gamora protested against saving the children, claiming that it would soon blow up due to its damage from their attack, Rocket then told them that he had enough of running away and they together went to rescue the children, accompanied by Blurp. They together defeated all of the remaining Hell Spawn and henchmen of High Evolutionary, killing most of them. Groot then helped the Guardians rescue the children, during which Adam recovered from the Bowie's destruction and attempted to attack Groot again upon seeing him, only to faint from the impact of the ship's explosion. Groot promptly rescued Adam from the Arête Laboratories, telling him when he regained consciousness that despite his previous attempts to kill the Guardians, everyone deserved a second chance, which Drax translated for Adam.
The Guardians then returned to the ship and defeated High Evolutionary together, with Gamora unmasking him to reveal his true disfigured face underneath. They spared High Evolutionary's life, instead carrying him to Knowhere to be imprisoned for his crimes,[38] and also rescued the other remaining imprisoned animals at Rocket's insistence before the Arête Laboratories exploded. Quill barely escaped, beginning to freeze in space before being rescued by Adam who had a change of heart after Groot saved him.
In the aftermath of the battle, Groot said goodbye to Gamora as she prepared to reunite with the Ravagers. He told her that it was good working with her before she left, with Gamora finally understanding Groot for the first time. Quill got Groot and the rest of the Guardians to gather together to tell them how he was leaving the Guardians. When the rest questioned why, Quill admitted that; he had been avoiding Earth and his grandfather, Jason Quill for too long, and wanted to go back for awhile. Then Mantis revealed that; she was leaving too to find out; who she was outside of Ego's daughter and a guardian. Despite Drax wanting to go with her for protection, Nebula admitted that she needed Drax to help her raise the Star Children; since she realized that; he was born to be a father; instead of a destroyer, along; with her staying on Knowhere to keep up it's maintenance. In disbelief, Rocket questioned if this meant that; the Guardians were finished, but Quill had stated that; the galaxy still needed it's Guardians and appointed Rocket as the new leader of the team. Groot and the rest gave Rocket the Ravager salute to formalize it. Groot then finished the impromptu coronation; by telling the Guardians that; he loved them.
Sometime, after Peter went back to Earth, Groot interacted with the Star Children; when Rocket; who had been given Quill's Zune; by Peter picked the device's latest song "Dog Days Are Over." Getting; into the song, Groot began dancing to the song; with Rocket soon joining him, and later all of the Knowherians and Guardians; including Drax followed in to dance, and as the song neared it's end, Groot and the other Guardians howled with joy over their victory.
Rocket Raccoon formed a new Guardians team with Groot, Adam Warlock, Phyla, Kraglin Obfonteri, Cosmo and Blurp, and headed out to protect a group of Krylorians from an approaching stampede in Krylor. As the team waited for the herd, Groot took a nap as the new members discussed what their favorite music artist was. Rocket started playing "Come and Get Your Love" on the Zune as the stampede drew close. Rocket then woke Groot up to join them in their fight.[39]
