Can Groot feel pain? Marvel's beloved character & his secrets explained

Groot, the tree-like character in the Marvel universe, not only baffles fans with his dialogs but also other traits which are different from Earth trees. One such baffling question is whether Groot is sensitive to physical pain.

Moviegoers paying attention to his responses know that he feels pain, though for a short time. It may be that the intensity of the physical pain is mild and tolerable, even for drastic injuries. With his limited vocabulary and verbal response to situations, fans must look deeper into the non-verbal cues to realize that the tree hero is sensitive to aches and pains.

There are many sides to the character development of this bark-covered superhero. The lovable Marvel hero is adorable both in his original grown-up form and as baby Groot. The camaraderie he shares with Rocket in the stories adds to idealistic examples of friendship.

Disclaimer: This article contains the author’s opinion about the character.

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What shows that Groot can feel pain?

The wooded hero doesn't express his aches and pains (Image via Marvel)

Groot is a plant creature, also known as Flora Colossus, from Planet X. He turned a hero from a human-hunting villain and joined Rocket and Star-Lord’s team. His body is composed of wood-like material covered with bark. He exhibits many qualities of plants such as regrowth and flowering.

As such, plants on Earth are known to feel pain. To expect a Flora Colossus alien to have the same qualities as plants on Earth is unfair. However, small cues give away the fact that the tree hero feels pain. There are two clear instances – when Gamora cuts off his arm and when he forges a handle for the Stormbreaker from his hand.

Gamora cuts off his arm in a fight. Rocket asked him to stop whining and reminded him that the arm would eventually grow back. This small conversation leaves a hint that the arm-chopping might have hurt the tree hero enough to induce whining. This, in turn, shows that he can sense discomfort and pain. However, the way he and Rocket continued further made it clear that the pain was bearable.

For Groot the second, the event came when he was a teenager and Thor forged a new weapon – Stormbreaker. Thor asked him to provide a handle for the super-axe.

The young tree alien grows his arm and chops it off to fashion the handle. While separating his limb from his body, the teen tree grunts. This is once again, a reference to soreness, which shows that the alien tree has fully functional nerves and pain receptors.

He also exhibits one of the natural responses to pain – anger. Every time he is hurt, he gets angry and retaliates. Needless to say, as a being with high intelligence and emotion, he gets emotionally hurt too.

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Other surprising revelations about the beloved Flora Colossus hero

Groot can regrow but has sensitive pain receptors (Image via Marvel)

It is established that the Flora Colossus hero senses physical pain. While he can grow his limbs and cut them off, he can also grow and reduce their size. As such, the growing size would grow into a vast number of tissues and nerves. However, the reduction of the extra mass may need an explanation such as rapid decomposition.

Fans have often wondered whether the bark-covered superhero is “worthy”. As for Thor’s Mjolnir, the alien plant hero never lifted it. However, he lifted Thor’s Stormbreaker to fix its handle, which suggests that he is worthy.

The wooded hero is not immortal. James Gunn revealed that the original one died in Guardians of the Galaxy I and baby Groot is his son. Director Gunn also believes that the baby does not remember anything from his past life.

Though a tree-like creature, he is referred to with a masculine pronoun since a superhero cannot be called “it”. While it is not clear whether his name is Groot, fans believe his real name could be “Tree."

Here are more surprising facts for fans of this adorable character.