Relationship Spotlight: Rocket & Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy)

The Guardians are great as a unit and in various subsets (including with other characters like Nebula and Yondu,) but for me, it doesn’t get any better than Groot and Rocket.  This duo is unlikely in every way, and I can’t get enough of them (a few spoilers.)

You’d be hard-pressed to find more of an odd couple than Rocket and Groot.  Rocket is a genetically-modified and cybernetically-enhanced raccoon, while Groot is a tree-like alien species, first a towering figure that can grow on command and later an itty-bitty seedling.  Rocket is brilliant, while Groot is… well-intentioned.  Rocket is sharp and surly, while Groot is kind-hearted and lovable.  Rocket runs his mouth off constantly, while Groot’s vocabulary is limited to, “I am Groot.”  These guys are different, is what I’m saying.

And that is a point of contention between them, mostly one-sided.  I wouldn’t call it friction or conflict, but Rocket has a tendency to get annoyed with Groot’s general obliviousness, especially in the first movie.  Rocket frequently chastises Groot for this or that – getting distracted, screwing up Rocket’s plans, etc. – and keeps up a running commentary about Groot’s low intelligence.  It can’t be denied that Rocket puts Groot down, a lot, but their relationship can’t be summed up as just that.

Because really, they are weirdly functional together.  When Groot really comes through in a big way, all but sacrificing himself near the end of the first movie, Rocket is broken up over his past treatment of Groot and is noticeably more patient with him in Vol. 1, despite Baby Groot being even more cheerily-obtuse than the adult version.  But even before that, for all of Rocket’s griping and snarking, there’s never any suggestion that he thinks he’d be better off without Groot.  It’s a bit, “Yeah, he’s a big dumb tree, but he’s my big dumb tree!”  When Groot accidentally throws Rocket’s escape plan into high-gear in the first movie, Rocket groans but gets on with it, and at no point does Rocket imply that Groot deserves anything less than the same cut as anyone else.  And Groot, of course, never turns his back on Rocket.  In his own taciturn way, he takes Rocket to task when he thinks Rocket is being overly callous to someone else, but he clearly has a lot of affection for Rocket and would do anything for the irascible raccoon.

When it comes to getting the job done, their skills are surprisingly complementary.  Rocket can more than hold his own in a fight as long as he’s got a big gun, but Groot brings some serious muscles, and between them, they’re a force to be reckoned with (I should point out that, even though he’s tiny in Vol. 2, Baby Groot can still lay a pretty good smackdown.)  Rocket makes the plans and explains Groot’s part to him, attempting to keep him on task, and in the second film, Rocket finds multiple ways to use Baby Groot’s small size to tactical advantage.

In short?  You wouldn’t think they’d work so well together, but they absolutely do.  However they came together and got into the bounty-hunting business in the first place, I fully understand why they’ve maintained their partnership ever since.