Since the release of the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot has risen among the ranks to become a fan-favorite character of the internet -- a fame the only skyrocketed after the appearance of Baby Groot. Soon, fans will see Groot in a whole new form: a moody teenager! Adolescent Groot (his canon correct name) will star in Avengers: Infinity War and will help stop Thanos from conquering the galaxy. Before that though, Groot has been spotted in real life as a suspiciously shaped cactus and the internet has reacted accordingly.
The ruckus began when the news channel Fox 10 Phoenix posted a picture of a cactus to their Facebook. While that might sound like a slow news day in Phoneix, the cactus bore more than a few similarities to the Marvel character Groot. Mostly, the two of them share similarly shaped heads and the cactus has the vague appearance of eyes and a mouth. It may look like Groot is doing a press tour in Phoenix to promote Avengers: Infinity War, but I assure you, it's just a cactus.
It's a fun photo and people on the internet are running with it. The post has 4.5 thousand likes and over 300 comments so far. One commenter on Facebook was quick to point out that this is actually Groot's lesser known brother, Prick. You can tell them apart because Prick says, "I am Prick!" and just wants to cuddle. However, being a cactus no one wants to get too close, which makes him pretty lonely (gotta have that tragic Marvel backstory). Other people have pointed out that his cactus arm (I don't know the technical term) looks like a penis.
So, people have got Groot fever, which should serve the character well for his upcoming appearance in Avengers: Infinity War. We don't know the exact size of his role, but I wouldn't expect it to be too deep. However, this will be the first real showing of his teenage personality, so he likely will be providing plenty of laughs at least.
Infinity War's plot has been kept mostly under wraps but we do know from trailers and officially released images that Groot will be on a mission with Thor and Rocket Raccoon. As to what they could be doing, I won't spoil it for those who may not know, but rest assured it's pretty cool.
We'll be able to see Groot (but not Prick) in Avengers: Infinity War, which is put in theaters on April 27 in a little less than the longest two weeks of your life. To learn more about the movie, here's everything we know so far about Avengers: Infinity War. For all the other Marvel movies hitting theaters, check out our Marvel movie release guide.
