In the Nerdcubed Webcomic, the root is an evil entity that wants to destroy the world. It is a physical form of all the paradoxes that are created by travelling through time. All of the time portals are made up of whatever the root is made of, which in the Minecraft world is obsidian. The creature turns all people into armies of creepers, like the ones that attacked Nathaniel and Bee before they visited the USS Plan B.