Warning: Spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy (2023) #7 ahead!The mystery of Grootfall and the fates of the Guardians of the Galaxy has finally been revealed, and the results are terrifying. Grootfall is the final extension of Groot’s lifecycle, transforming the plant-like Guardian into a massive web of interconnected planetary masses – a greater cosmic consciousness than even that of Ego the Living Planet.
Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Kev Walker, and Matt Hollingsworth’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2023) #7 sees the Manifold Territories completely overtaken and transformed into Grootspace. Hulkling and Wiccan mount an exploratory mission into Grootspace only to discover that the Guardians of the Galaxy are not, in fact, dead – rather, they have been absorbed into Grootspace and have become a part of its consciousness.
Seeking to know more, Wiccan communes with Grootspace and finally discovers the truth: Grootspace is the final form of Groot’s lifecycle, intended to re-seed his entire species across the galaxy. The rampage of “Grootfall” was simply Groot gathering enough energy and raw material to properly take root. Now that he has seeded himself, all those consumed by Grootfall live on in its consciousness and will (eventually) be regrown.
Groot is a Living Galaxy
Groot’s new size absolutely dwarfs just about every other entity in the galaxy, including the Guardians’ old foe, Ego. Created by Jack Kirby and debuting in The Mighty Thor (1966) #133 (Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Vince Colletta), Ego was popularized for modern audiences as the main antagonist in the MCU film Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. Ego’s MCU incarnation displays similar abilities to Grootfall, seeding himself across the galaxy to terraform planets and life-forms alike – but never on the scale that Groot has now achieved.
Groot’s new form elevates him from a living tree to a full-on eldritch entity. The description of Grootspace that Wiccan conveys is that of an ancient, amalgamated consciousness that devours all in its path once it awakens. That the life consumed will eventually be reborn does not mitigate the alien horror conveyed by Groot’s new form; arguably, this display of godlike ability only heightens it, as the source of Groot’s power is yet unknown. Groot merely is, now elevated to a level where it consumes and gestates entire galaxies, holding them in its dreamlike consciousness before eventually birthing them anew.
Ego, as portrayed in the MCU, was an arrogant monster – self-centered and callous, but understandable. Groot now dwarfs him in every possible scope, elevating the Guardian’s beloved monosyllabic bruiser into a cosmic entity of fiery death and verdant rebirth. In his ultimate form, Groot and the Guardians of the Galaxy are now one: a multi-planetary consciousness that dwarfs all else on the galactic scale.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2023) #7 is now available from Marvel Comics.
