12 Years Ago, This MCU Quote Proves Why Marvel’s Best Team Was a Group of Misfits and Not Superheroes

In August 2014, Marvel released Guardians of the Galaxy into theaters, its riskiest movie at that time. When Marvel hired James Gunn to create the first cosmic movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he directed Guardians of the Galaxy, which was a brand-new version of the team that had existed since the 1970s. This version, led by Star-Lord and including Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Drax the Destroyer, and Groot, debuted in Marvel Comics during the “Annihilation: Conquest” event in April 2008, just six years before the movie hit theaters. These were all mostly obscure characters, but something amazing happened, and it was a massive success.

By the end of the first movie, fans had fallen so much in love with these heroes that the shocking death of one member of the team was emotionally devastating. Not only that, but when Groot saved his teammates before saying, “We are Groot,” it was heartbreaking. This remains one of the best quotes in MCU history.

“We Are Groot” Is the MCU’s Most Underrated Quote

To understand why “We are Groot” is so important, it is essential to understand what Groot is all about. Groot is a tree-like humanoid whose only true friend is Rocket Raccoon. Voiced by Vin Diesel, Groot works with Rocket to pull off heists and seems almost unstoppable until they get involved in a skirmish between the assassin Gamora and the outlaw Star-Lord. The thing that really helped Groot stand out is that he was the only member of the team who didn’t start out as a bad person. He was the innocent one on the team, and that made his sacrifice hit even harder.

It is also important to know that all he said was “I am Groot,” but that wasn’t what he was really saying. The only way that anyone can understand what he is really saying is by growing closer to him and becoming one of his trusted allies who really knows him. In the start, only Rocket knew what Groot was saying, and Star-Lord was always frustrated because Groot kept repeating the same words every time he spoke.

Throughout the entire movie, the team started to become less like selfish jerks and more like a mismatched family unit. This was shown when they battled Ronan the Accuser at the end and had their ship destroyed. As they all seemed like they were going to die, Groot created a plant-like shield around his new friends to save them as they crash-landed on Xandar. Before he died, Groot looked at the Guardians and said, “We are Groot,” and this meant two things. One, the Guardians finally heard what he was saying, and second, the audience understood as well.

This was shown even more at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. At that moment, Groot finally said something that everyone understood. Thanks to his biology, he speaks in real thoughts and phrases, but non-Flora listeners only hear “I am Groot” until they form a deep bond with him. At the end of Vol 3, Groot actually says, “I love you guys,” and the audience hears it as well. This completed the storyline, as we had all developed this immense bond with Groot, as the Guardians also did. It all started with the first movie and “We are Groot,” and this was an emotional road with the misfit team.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Remain the MCU’s Best Team

It remains impressive that the Guardians of the Galaxy might rank even higher than the Avengers when it comes to the MCU’s most beloved teams. Yes, the Avengers have become the box office kings, but it is important to remember that this is because the team has heroes who had also grown in their own movies, with Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor proving to be popular before they ever teamed up. Also, the biggest box-office movies just so happened to also include the Guardians of the Galaxy.

The difference is that no one knew who the Guardians of the Galaxy were before their movie. Even comic book readers only knew them from the pages of the cosmic crossover events like Annihilation: Conquest. This team of misfits that no one knew anything about went on to make $773 million at the worldwide box office, before bringing in $864 million with the second movie and $846 million with the third. They quickly became MCU favorites for many fans.

James Gunn is gone from the MCU, so the Guardians of the Galaxy will likely never be back, although the cosmic world will reignite with Nova in the future. However, for three movies and a Disney+ special feature, no one could touch the Guardians, and characters like Groot are a big reason why. When he said “We are Groot” 12 years ago, an entire fandom nodded their heads and smiled.