Even though it's common knowledge that the Guardian of the Galaxy's new Groot is the offspring of the original Groot's sacrifice in Guardians of the Galaxy, it seems like a botanist has gone on to disagree.
After seeing a tiny Groot growing off from a shoot taken from the remains of Groot in the original Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel fans began wondering whether the Guardian's new plant-life member was the same Groot that they've come to know in Marvel's first cosmic movie.
The film's director James Gunn went on record to tell fans that the baby is actually the original Groot's son, explaining that Baby Groot doesn't have any memory of the events of Guardians of the Galaxy or the allies that fought with him in the film.
However, James Wong, a British Malaysian botanist, has decided to dispute Gunn's answer. According to the botanist, Baby Groot isn't original Groot's son, but his clone. That's not all. Wong also says it's likely that Baby Groot could actually hold the same memories as the Groot that died in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Because Baby Groot comes from one of original Groot's broken twigs, Wong explains that Baby Groot comes from vegetative propagation. Vegetative propagation is a kind of asexual reproduction where plans retain their original stem cells – basically a kind of cloning.
THE BIOLOGY OF BABY GROOT. ⬇️
Baby groot is created from a cutting of Groot, an ambulant alien plant who dies at the end of the 1st Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
Geeks are hotly debating whether he is a ‘son' of Groot or just Groot living on.
Botanist to the rescue... pic.twitter.com/7NqKI65M9l
— James Wong (@Botanygeek)
May 7, 2018
‘Son's' tend to only share 1/2 their DNA with their parents. So this analogy is tricky. Genetically they are one and the same, more like identical twins.
(Unless, of course, Baby groot was actually grown from the pollen/spores/seeds emitted by Groot in the crash landing scene?) pic.twitter.com/nLxjiwphwA
— James Wong (@Botanygeek)
May 7, 2018
And finally, as we now know even Earth plants can process complex information about the world around them & retain it without the need for a centralised storage organ like animals need (ie a brain).
If Baby groot is a cutting, it is likely it retains Big Groot's memories!? pic.twitter.com/1dpM4Dubl2
— James Wong (@Botanygeek)
May 7, 2018
Even without a brain, Wong says that research has revealed that plants "can process complex information about the world around them and retain it."
Since Baby Groot is a cutting, he most likely has the original Groot's memories!
If what Wong says is true, then this new revelation adds another layer to Teen Groot's final words to Rocket (Bradley Cooper) in Avengers: Infinity War. Of course, while it's difficult to counter actual science, Marvel could simply explain that Groot isn't a regular plant and doesn't work the same way.
Avengers: Infinity War is currently in cinemas.
Read: James Gunn Refuses to Start Guardians Vol. 3 with this 90s Classic
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!
Fandoms