MCU: 25 most heartbreaking Marvel Cinematic Universe character deaths

Photo Credit: Guardians of the Galaxy Blu-Ray Key Art/Walt Disney Studios In-Home USA/Canada Image Acquired from Image.net

4. Groot

Movie it happened in: Guardians of the Galaxy

Why it was so heartbreaking: I know Teenage Groot has already been on this list, but there’s another Groot to put on. This time it’s the Groot from the very first Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

As Ronan’s ship is destroyed, it looks like all the Guardians are going to be killed. Groot sacrifices himself to protect them all, dying in the process.

But he doesn’t die, does it? We get Baby Groot out of it.

Well, Baby Groot and Groot are not the same people. Baby Groot is actually Groot’s son, which makes the death in Guardians of the Galaxy all the more heartbreaking. This “Tree,” as we so commonly hear of the Groots referred to, puts his own life on the line to make sure those who he doesn’t necessarily know that well – most he met during the movie – managed to survive.

It’s a lot to ask to put your life on the line for others. The Guardians wouldn’t have even been classed as heroes up to this point. In a way, they were just a bunch of misfits that ganged together to protect the solar system. This death brought us that look of heroes, the bunch of them.

The fact that we got Baby Groot out of it did soften the blow a little. There was some confusion over whether Baby Groot was the same Groot for a long time, but James Gunn confirmed they were father and son.