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The Guardians of the Galaxy trailer has me totally geeked out. One of the reasons I’m excited for the movie is Groot. He is the coolest talking tree in sci-fi and fantasy. Groot is way cooler than those lamers in The Lord of the Rings. As I mentioned in my story on the trailer, I was anxiously awaiting Groot to say his trademark phase, “I am Groot.” Since he didn’t, my anticipation for the next trailer has increased exponentially. The trailer also got me thinking about other heroes with limited vocabularies. There are so many great ones to choose from. I’m going to use today’s column to talk about some of my favorites and I’d love to hear about yours. Let’s start with…
Timmy From South Park: Timmy Burch made his debut in South Park season 4 and the world has been a better place ever since. Wheelchair-bound and mentally disabled, Timmy’s vocabulary is limited to his name. He has shown, time and time again, a broad range of emotions simply by saying, “Timmy!” Hell, he even fronted a kick-ass band called Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld. One of my favorite Timmy clips was when he was being chased by a dinosaur in prehistoric times. The palpable sense of fear he conveyed while limited to saying, “Timmy!” stopped me in my tracks and made me think, “Acting.”
Pikachu: The most popular Pokemon in the world has spent years entertaining millions of television watchers, moviegoers, and gamers while limited to saying three syllables. Purists of heroes with limited vocabulary argue that Pikachu has an unfair advantage over his contemporaries since he uses numerous permutations of pi, ka, and chu. Personally, I give him a pass on that technicality since he has saved the world on multiple occasions.
Groot: Of course I need to spend some time talking about Groot. At a glance, it’s easy to dismiss him as a large talking tree that’s merely a heavy hitter on the Guardians of the Galaxy’s roster. Yes, he can deal some heavy damage, but he’s more than just a bruiser. He’s Rocket Raccoon’s confidant and anchor. When Gamora wants to lower her guard and shed the burden of being the most dangerous woman in the universe, Groot is there for when she wants to be a girly girl. (That has never been shown in the comics, but I know it in my heart to be true.) In Guardians of the Galaxy #17, he hatched a plan with Maximus of the Inhumans, showing a deep knowledge of “quasi-dimensional superpositional engineering.” While there are numerous heroes with limited vocabularies, Groot is arguably the smartest and most educated.
Your Picks: Now it’s your turn to talk about heroes with limited vocabularies. Kindly use the comments section to talk about heroes from comic books, television, and movies that are limited to a handful of words. Can you think of one more heroic and legendary than Groot?!?
Damn I wish Pokemon were real.
If they were… I’ love to try a Charizard burger.
If they were, PETA would go nuclear.
-M
What about Snake Eyes from GI Joe… or is “no vocabulary” a different thread?
Mutes are a totally different category. :p
I wish more heroes were limited to just a handful of words. Sylvester Stallone (Rocky) and Vin Diesel (Riddick) come close, though… they seem to limit their vocabulary to just a few intelligible words.
-M