Groot is among the few heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) who can boast predating the “Marvel Age of Comics” set off by the Fantastic Four’s 1961 debut. Most look the same now as they did then. Captain America socks Hitler on the jaw on the cover of his first appearance, an iconic image that was homaged outright in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. The imperious Sub-Mariner has been tempestuous and battle-ready since leaping off the pages of 1939’s Marvel Comics #1. But if a fan were to read Groot’s first appearance Tales to Astonish #13, they would have a hard time connecting its monologuing, would be-world conquering “Monster from Planet X” with the Guardians of the Galaxy’s simple-minded gentle giant.
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Groot was one of dozens of monsters, aliens, and otherworldly menaces that stomped and stalked across the covers of titles like Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish, and Journey into Mystery long before those comics would be home to the likes of Iron Man, Ant-Man, or Thor. What this means for collectors is that Groot’s first appearance is one of the rarest key issues of Marvel’s silver age. It was released at a time when Marvel Comics had inconsistent distribution and lacked a strong collector fanbase that preserved their comics. High-grade copies like this CGC (Certified Guaranty Company)-graded 7.5 copy of Tales to Astonish #13 are rare to come across, as demonstrated by $5k price bidding has already attained.
A Closer Look at Groot’s Strange History
As mentioned, Groot was not a unique character when he debuted. In 1960, most of Marvel (then Atlas) Comics’ titles were science fiction anthologies, with every month featuring a different monster, extraterrestrial, or robot spawned by mad science, sorcery, or an alien effort to conquer Earth. A few (Fin Fang Foom, Xemnu) are recognizable to modern Marvel readers, having made the leap to mainstream Earth-616 continuity as Groot did.
In Tales to Astonish #13, Groot arrives on Earth in a spectacular fireball and absorbs nearby trees and wooden structures until attaining a colossal (naturally inconsistent page over page) size. This Groot also possesses the power of mental command over trees – referring to himself throughout the comic as “master of wood.” Using this power, Groot’s ultimate plan is to ensnare a nearby village in a “huge, mighty net” of tree-roots, and then “they will carry you … up from this planet, out beyond your solar system” so that the villagers can be made slaves on Groot’s homeworld of Planet X. Fortunately, a quick-thinking scientist looses a horde of termites on Groot, killing him and ending the menace.
Though his debut was reprinted twice in the early seventies (a cover spot in Where Monsters Dwell #6 and a back-up to Doctor Druid’s debut in Weird Wonder Tales #19), Groot made no further new appearances until 1976. Then, he was dusted off alongside five other “Marvel Monsters” of the Atlas Era to battle the Incredible Hulk in an issue still fondly remembered by fans. This did enough to cement Groot as one of the stand-by cameo characters when a comic like 1997’s Sensational Spider-Man, 1998’s Supernaturals, or 2005’s Monsters on the Prowl wanted to homage the Atlas-era monsters.
When Groot Met Rocket & Why His Vocabulary Shrank
Groot came to prominence during 2007’s Annihilation: Conquest storyline, a universe-spanning epic involving virtually all of Marvel’s cosmic super-heroes. Groot was reintroduced during Keith Giffen’s Annihilation: Conquest – Star-Lord mini-series, a prisoner of the Kree Empire offered freedom in exchange for joining a Suicide Squad-esque special mission force lead by Star-Lord. It’s this team that eventually evolves into the Guardians of the Galaxy that served as the basis for James Gunn and Nicole Perlman’s live-action adaptation.
However, while physically closer to his MCU counterpart, Giffen’s Groot still speaks with a full vocabulary – and a massive woodchip on his shoulder. Groot thinks of himself as “Monarch of Planet X” despite his imprisonment, and Giffen writes him wonderfully over-the-top silver age villain dialogue to suit. Despite this, Groot endears himself to teammate Rocket Raccoon, who spends much of the comic perched on Groot’s massive shoulder, machine gun in hand.
Groot sacrifices his body to save his teammates at the end of Giffen’s mini-series, surviving as a twig imbued with his full consciousness. Giffen leaves this sort-of Baby Groot with his vocabulary intact, but when writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning take over the proto-Guardians of the Galaxy’s story in the mainline Annihilation: Conquest title, Groot is at a loss for words. Regrown to his full size, Groot is now only capable of speaking the phrase “I am Groot.”
This development goes unexplained until Guardians of the Galaxy #17, when the Inhuman Maximus reveals that Groot is speaking a fully realized language that simply sounds like phrase “I am Groot” due to “the hardened formation of his larynx.” “You must listen to … the nuance of meaning,” Maximus chides his fellow Inhumans, as well as Groot’s teammates. The end result is the same: Groot’s dialogue is written as “I am Groot,” and at last, nearly fifty years after his debut, the Groot of the comics is the Groot of the MCU.
How Groot’s MCU Appearances Have Affected Value
In 2003, a 5.5 copy of Tales to Astonish #13 was worth eighty dollars – a price no different than that of any of Marvel Monsters comic of the same era in the same condition. Today, comic pricing authority lists the value of a copy in that same condition as nearly $3k, “a ridiculous 3,650% increase.” In 2012, that $3k could buy a near mint, 9.2 copy of the issue (estimated value $2,868 ). A graded 8.0 copy sold for nearly five times that ($10,500, to be exact) in 2017, just ahead of Groot’s return to screens in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
More recently, Heritage recorded the sale of a 7.5 graded copy at the same $10,500 in 2022, a record-breaking result. Prices seem to have cooled off somewhat in the intervening years, as Heritage most recently auctioned a copy in the same condition for only $8.4k in January of last year. Still, with bidding already up to $5k, it looks as if the copy up for auction next week might finish closer to that 2022 price.
What would you pay for Groot’s first appearance? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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Forum Conversation: Which Marvel Hero Has the Best Supporting Cast?
Go to ForumI have to give it to the one character that carried marvel on his back for many years and many movies way before any of the spider man or x-men movies ever came out. If you dive into some history it’s safe to say that although not the most popular nor the biggest money maker for marvel, hands down the Punisher has to be marvels mvp. Don’t forget it was the Punisher played by Dolph lundgren back in the 80’s that brought marvel back into mainstream pop culture. Not spider man or avengers or x-men. Frank Castle has stood the test of time battling just about everyone in the marvel universe at some point. His supporting cast can potentially be any characters you want to incorporate and it still flows seamlessly because of his interactions with just about everyone over the years.
I’ll go the other way and say Daredevil.
Foggy, Karen, Ben Urich, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Black Widow, Elektra, Captain America, Punisher, Maya Lopez, and that’s not even counting the villains.
I hadn’t thought of Captain Marvel. Honestly, I haven’t read much Captain Marvel in a long time.