This article is a list of fictional characters in the comic book series Scott Pilgrim and the film adaptation Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World by Bryan Lee O'Malley.
For the film versions of the characters, O'Malley sent crib sheets that explained backstory, character motivations, and events in the book to Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright. Bacall then created a "ten secret things" for each character, according to O'Malley, for fun, and many of the entries were jokes; O'Malley said that the "ten secret things" documents were not intended to be taken seriously as character background.[1]
Contents |
| Scott Pilgrim | |
|---|---|
Cover to Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life. Art by Bryan Lee O'Malley. |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Oni Press |
| First appearance | Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life |
| Created by | Bryan Lee O'Malley |
| In-story information | |
| Abilities | Video-game based fighting skills, graphic-novel based agility and speed, control over Subspace and the Glow, owner of the Power of Understanding |
Scott W. Pilgrim is the 23-year-old (24 in volumes 5-6) protagonist. He is the bass player for the band Sex Bob-omb with his friends Stephen Stills and Kim Pine, He plays a Rickenbacker 4001c64, 4003 in the movie adaptation. Though initially an unemployed freeloader, he later gets a job as a dish washer (and food prep trainee) at The Happy Avocado vegetarian restaurant. The character's name was inspired by the song "Scott Pilgrim" from Plumtree's 1998 album Predicts the Future. He believes that smoking is evil, drinks "only on occasions", and doesn't hit girls. Scott seems to suffer from memory problems, which his friends chalk up to his stupidity, though the memory problems began after his break-up with Envy Adams whom he dated through college. The series also references a mysterious "dark side" of Scott's personality which he avoids as much as possible. He is initially devastated by his break-up with Envy Adams, and begins dating Knives Chau before meeting Ramona. The two begin dating, but Scott is plagued by Ramona's elusive past and her "7 evil exes" led by the mysterious "Gideon", all of whom challenge him in succession for the right to date her. Despite his limited intelligence and poor memory, Scott has on occasion managed to defeat his opponents through cunning rather than brute strength; in volume 2, he manages to goad Lucas Lee into performing a dangerous skateboarding trick, and in the film adaptation, he successfully tricks Todd Ingram into consuming dairy products in spite of him having psychic powers. Scott is a surprisingly skilled fighter in unarmed combat and sword fighting.
Scott is played by Michael Cera in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Shortly before filming for the movie began, Cera received a list of secrets (some of which are already in the books, some of which are neither in the books nor the movie) about the character. Cera has revealed at least one of these secrets so far, which pertains to Scott's world view: "The one that really stays in my head is that Scott, in his mind, is the star of his own movie. This movie is, in a way, existing in his own mind. This is his weird perception of the world around him."[2]
Cera also voices Scott for the animated short Scott Pilgrim vs. The Animation.
Scott Pilgrim has received great reception as a comic book character. He was ranked as the 85th greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine.[3] Empire magazine also ranked Scott Pilgrim as the 40th greatest comic book character quoting that Bryan Lee O' Malley's creation is one of the most authentic twenty year old somethings ever committed to comic book paper.[4] IGN also ranked Scott Pilgrim as the 69th greatest comic book hero of all time stating that they love Scott not just because he's a tried-and-true nerd who battles villains in epic fashion, but because he went through a dramatic character arc over the course of his series.[5]
Ramona Victoria "Rammy" Flowers is an American expatriate from New York, a "ninja delivery girl" for Amazon.ca and Scott's main love interest. Her age is unknown until the end of the volume 4, where she reveals that she is 24 years old. She reveals very little and is very guarded about her past in New York before she moved to Toronto. She is capable of traveling through subspace and has seven evil exes who challenge Scott for her affection. When fighting, she typically uses an oversized mallet as her weapon, which she can retrieve from her purse through the use of subspace. She changes her hairstyle every three weeks and becomes anxious when Gideon is mentioned or brought up. Her head glows periodically, usually when she is upset or jealous, though she herself is unaware of this until Kim Pine brings attention to it in volume 5.
Ramona is played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Shortly before filming began, Winstead received the list of facts about Ramona's past.[6][7] When asked what those facts are, she responded, "I honestly don't know if they are things that Bryan would want out there, so I'll keep them quiet. But things about her family-she's kind of a tragic figure in a way. She's been through a lot, and that's why she's so guarded and mysterious."[7] Winstead has since revealed at least one of the secrets, one that she considered very insightful for her character: Ramona’s younger brother died when she was younger, and she wears one of his shoelaces around her neck in memory of him.[8][9] According to O'Malley, the particular detail about the brother is not applicable in the book version of Ramona.[1]
After Winstead learned she had the part, she began training to be the character in Los Angeles. The training included stunt training, pushups, kung fu training, and fight training. Winstead said that the training was "pretty cool" and "like being in some sort of kung fu camp."[10]
Wallace Wells is Scott's "cool gay roommate" and possibly Scott's real friend. He is 25 years old and first met Scott in college; the way they met is particularly unknown. Compared to Scott, Wallace is more intelligent, responsible, and mature, holding down a job and paying for most of their expenses while they lived together; most of their apartment's furniture and possessions belong to Wallace and likewise during a grocery shopping trip, most of the items (and all the luxuries) are labeled as for Wallace. Wallace usually serves as Scott's mentor during his trials, assisting Scott with training for his fights against Ramona's exes and gathering intel on them. This may mean that he trained Scott in his fighting style, as Scott calls him a terrible master. He dates and later moves in with his "psychic" boyfriend, Mobile. The character was inspired by O'Malley's former roommate Christopher Butcher, the co-founder of PopImage and PreviewsReview.
Wallace is played by Kieran Culkin in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Knives Chau is a 17-year-old Chinese-Canadian high school girl and self-described "Scottaholic". Scott dated her for a short while, but broke up with her after he met Ramona (though he initially "forgets" to break up with her). Initially a quiet, typical school girl, after their break-up, she cut and dyed her hair and changed her clothing style, hoping to win Scott back by becoming more of a hipster. Her discovery that Scott was cheating on her with Ramona causes tension between the two girls, sometimes culminating in actual fights, though later the two reach a level of acceptance of one another. She starts dating Sex Bob-omb's groupie Young Neil, although she is still in love with Scott. She and Young Neil later break up, but Knives still hangs out with the group. She used to idolize Envy Adams, based on her success as a musician and her former relationship with Scott, but is soon disenchanted when Envy has her bassist Todd punch Knives hard enough to knock the highlights out of her hair. Knives' father becomes aware of Scott's past relationship with his daughter, causing him to hunt him down and try to kill him, though Scott later earns his acceptance. Knives becomes aware of her father's plot when Scott tries to hide in the Second Cup, where Knives is newly employed. In Vol. 6, Knives turns 18 and goes off to university. Scott and Knives reconcile and remain friends.
Knives is played by Ellen Wong in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. When an interviewer from GQ said "As a character, Knives can be a little bit...annoying," Wong responded, "Put yourself in her shoes! She's a capricious young girl. At that age, you don't know what you want or where you fit in in life." When the interviewer responded with "But she's obsessed with Scott Pilgrim. She's pathological," Wong responded with "I wouldn't say she's obsessed. This is her first time being in love with somebody. She's feeling new emotions."[11]
Wong said that when she first auditioned for the role, she did not know who Knives was. She liked playing as Knives in that audition, so she bought the books and read them. Wong said that she "loved how free-spirited she was in the beginning phases -- she genuinely wants to have a good time. Then I got the books and found out she’s this bad ass ninja too [laughs] it just kept getting better."[12]
An interviewer told Wong that "More than anyone else in the film, Knives really goes on the most complex journey emotionally." Responding to that, Wong said that she enjoyed "figuring out her arc – showing her growth is definitely key to her story. It really is the story of a young girl figuring out where she fits in the world. A lot of the things she encounters in this movie have to do with it being “the first time” she’s dealt with it. I feel like the other characters have all gone through their Knives phase already – it’s kind of refreshing to see somebody young and untainted. She brings a fresh perspective to the movie.." She added that she preferred the alternate ending where Knives and Scott become a couple, saying that it "adds to her character." Wong further explained "But what’s great about both endings is that it remains unclear if Scott is in a dating relationship with Knives or Ramona. It's nice to leave that open because it’s like life. You don’t always get closure with concrete answers – anything can happen and you just have to move on."[12]
As part of the film, Wong said that the "wire work" was "fun. It's like flying!" When the interviewer mentioned that he heard many complaints about the wires causing pain, Wong stated "It hurts more for the guys..."[11]
Stephen Stills is the lead singer, guitarist, and "talent" of Sex Bob-omb. He is 23 years old and went to university with Scott. He is employed at The Happy Avocado vegetarian restaurant as a cook and later helps Scott get a job there as a dish-washer. Stephen is in a tumultuous relationship with Julie Powers, who at one point suspects that he and Knives may have a mutual attraction to one another. Whilst typically laconic, Stephen is known for rare fits of neurosis, (typically over the quality of his band's music compared to others,) as well as irritability (usually over Scott's absentmindedness). By the end of the series, Stephen reveals to Scott that he and Joseph are in a relationship and that he came out to the rest of their friends in Volume 5 after realizing that he is gay. He claims that he did not tell Scott because he seemed to have a lot going on. He shares a name with Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Scott always refers to him by his full name.
Stephen Stills is played by Mark Webber in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Prior to this role Webber had neither sung professionally nor played the guitar, but learned both in the weeks preceding filming.[13]
Kimberly "Kim" Pine is Scott's high school friend and drummer of Sex Bob-omb. During gigs (or even just when practicing at home) Kim counts in the band, usually by screaming some variation on: "We are Sex Bob-omb! ONE-TWO-THREE-FOUR!" She is 23 years old and was Scott's first girlfriend, whom he "saved" from Simon Lee. The two broke up when Scott's family moved away to Toronto. She has a sarcastic personality and dislikes many people. Kim is employed at No-Account Video throughout the series. Her relationship with Scott is typically one of annoyance at his ineptitude, but Volume 5 strongly hints that she is still in love with him, but has become resigned to the fact that he loves Ramona. She later moves back home to Northern Ontario at the end of Volume 5, prompting Scott to apologize ambiguously for his actions; she accepts the apology before boarding the bus. She later contacts Scott to have him relieve her of boredom at her parent's place. While he visits, Kim helps Scott remember the reality of his past relationships and accept that he did things as a bad boyfriend that he did not want to accept about himself. With Kim, it is revealed that he never told her he was moving away, and she had to confront him after finding out from Lisa Miller. During Scott's final fight with Gideon, she is psychically aware of the events taking place, despite being at her parents' home. She later forms another band with Scott. Bryan Lee O'Malley came up with the name "Kim Pine" when he was in high school, and first used it for a character in the short-lived comic strip "Style" before using for the Scott Pilgrim series.[14]
Kim is played by Alison Pill in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World; Pill also voices Kim for the animated short Scott Pilgrim vs. The Animation. Pill said that the film Kim "cares more about Sex Bob-omb than she lets on" and that she "cares more about Scott than she lets on." She added that Kim does feel some bitterness about the result of the romance between Scott and Ramona.[15] Pill learned to play the drums for the role and performs on the soundtrack.[16]
Neil "Young Neil" Nordegraf is Sex Bob-omb's biggest fan. He is Stephen Stills' 20-year-old roommate and briefly dated Knives Chau, until she broke up with him. Knives admits in volume 3 to only dating him because he looks so similar to Scott. In volume 5, he becomes angry at how isolated he has become from his friends and later becomes bitter and sullen, taking up smoking. He is the quietest character and is very indifferent to almost everything. He is described as "The young one, at least until Knives showed up". When called an ass, he says "I'm young, I'll grow out of it". In Volume 6, Scott introduces him for the first time as simply "Neil", which is described as the best day of his (Neil's) life. The inside cover of volume 5 calls him a "hanger on" and the author himself says that Young Neil is written as dopey because his eyes are covered by his hair. It was easier to write Neil as dopey than to portray him differently given his lack of eyebrows. His nickname is a reversal of Neil Young, a frequent collaborator of musician Stephen Stills.
Young Neil is played by Johnny Simmons in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
His sister, Stephanie "Steph" Nordegraf played bongos and the viola in Scott's old band, Kid Chameleon.
The League of Evil Exes was founded when Ramona left Gideon for Toronto. When he finds her six other exes online, he manipulates them into believing that Ramona was responsible for their break-ups. He uses their anger to mold them in the shape of evil. They believe this to be a plan to get revenge on her, but Gideon's secret intention is to use Ramona's ability of subspace travel to manipulate the minds of everyone in the world. The team was founded two weeks prior to the events of Vol. 1. Each time Scott defeats one of them they become (or drop) coins according to their place in the list in similar fashion to the enemies from the River City Ransom NES videogame from the 80s.
1. Matthew Patel is Ramona's first evil ex. According to Ramona, they only kissed once, and broke up after about a week. Scott initially ignored Matthew's repeated challenges to fight him, leaving him confused when Patel arrived at the Rockit. He is Indian, has mystical powers (flight and the ability to hurl fireballs), and can summon "Demon Hipster Chicks" at will. Scott gets $2.40 for defeating him. Matthew is played by Satya Bhabha in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, in which his fight scene resembles a Bollywood musical number.
2. Lucas Lee is Ramona's second evil ex, a pro skateboarder turned movie star (and a "sell out"). Scott gets $14 in coins and a mithril skateboard (that he cannot use since he lacks a skateboarding proficiency) after "defeating" him by tricking him into attempting a dangerous skateboard trick. He is named after pro skateboarder-turned-actor Jason Lee who Scott often mistakes him for. Lucas is played by Chris Evans in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, where he battles Scott prior to his fatal skateboard trick using a gang of stunt doubles.
3. Todd Ingram is Ramona's third evil ex, a bass player for the Clash at Demonhead. He has special "vegan-based" psychic powers (although he is secretly consuming non-vegan foods). He is arrogant, narcissistic, uncaring, and a habitual liar. He dates Envy, his childhood love, but cheats on her repeatedly with Lynette, the band's drummer, as well as with other girls. He is caught by the Vegan Police for breaking his diet, and has his powers taken away, giving Scott the edge. Scott gets some money (again in coins) plus an extra life when he defeats him. Todd is named after Scott Ingram, the real-life inspiration for the song "Scott Pilgrim", and is played by Brandon Routh in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
4. Roxanne "Roxie" Richter is Ramona's fourth evil ex and her former college roommate. She is a "half-ninja" (Kunoichi) and an accomplished fine artist, who taught Ramona much of what she knows of her ninja abilities and subspace. Scott is usually against fighting girls or anyone with a sword, so Ramona fights Roxie, for part of the time using Scott's body as a weapon. Roxie has an inferiority complex over her "half-ninja" background, as well as her figure - she is much shorter than Ramona. Despite her status as an evil exe, Roxie gets on well with Ramona but openly hates Scott, claiming Scott is a "lazy ass" who refuses to fight his own battles, prompting Scott to finally mature in his relationship with Ramona, gaining a sword and "The Power of Love". The final fight scene between her and Scott is a reference to the beginning of Ninja Gaiden. When defeated by Scott, she explodes into a cascade of woodland creatures, a reference to Sonic the Hedgehog. Roxie, spelled 'Roxy' in the film, is played by Mae Whitman, where she battles Ramona and Scott at a nightclub after-party (combining elements of Ramona and Envy's fight in Vol. 3 and the Winnifred Hailey fight in Free Scott Pilgrim). Scott barely defeats her by poking her "weak spot" on the back of her knee, causing her to explode into coins.
5.& 6. Kyle & Ken Katayanagi (Ken is referred to as "Kevin" in the video game) are Ramona's fifth and sixth evil exes, a pair of Japanese twins who often finish each other's sentences. The pair are "expert roboticists" who summon robots to fight Scott. They vowed to work together closely once the pair realized Ramona had been cheating on them with each other. The twins capture Kim Pine to lure Scott to them, pointing out in the meantime that Kim may still be in love with Scott. Scott defeats them and gets $79.95 for Ken, $74.95 for Kyle, and a $2 twins bonus (again all in coins) after defeating them. He also unlocks an achievement for defeating them simultaneously (which is available in the game). Kyle and Ken are played by Shota and Keita Saito respectively in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, where they are instead DJs who engage Sex Bob-omb in a mystical amp battle during the semifinal round of the battle of the bands. They initially outclass Sex Bob-Omb by summoning "double dragon" animals from their amps, but are eventually defeated when Scott summons a Yeti by activating his distortion pedal.
7. Gideon Gordon Graves is the 7th evil ex, the series' main antagonist and the leader of the League of Ramona's Evil Exes and suggested to be Ramona's boyfriend previous to Scott, in New York City. He is mentioned several times throughout the series, but never seen fully until the end of Volume 3. He is the owner of "The Chaos Theatre" (a reference to EarthBound), in NYC and "GGG Heavy Industries," which is opening "Chaos Theatre Toronto". Ramona has also "worked" for him previously in an unknown capacity, and he eventually makes contact with Scott. There is also a small cat living at Ramona's house by the same name, though the cat is revealed to only be named as such by Ramona as a way of dealing with the breakup. Gideon finally appears in the last volume as an inventor and club entrepreneur who is opening a new club, The Chaos Theatre, in Toronto. He begins a relationship with Envy, promoting her new solo album and setting her debut up as his club's opening act. During this time, he meets up with Scott, who flees instead of fighting him, though their altercation is inevitable. He has apparent control over subspace, a side effect of his ability to induce "emotional warfare" via The Glow, which essentially traps people in their minds with their psychological issues, and using this allows him to literally be inside Ramona's head. He is also able to steal Scott's Power of Love katana, and proves to be a competent swordsman. Upon his defeat, he showers $7,777,777 (once more, in coins) over The Chaos Theatre. Gideon is played by Jason Schwartzman in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, who also controls Ramona's head through the use of microchips. One of the ten secrets for Gideon was that "Gideon is very passive aggressive, and so he’s not overtly evil. He smiles a lot, just kind of 'kill ‘em with kindness,' but you can feel that it’s not sincere almost instantly." Schwartzman also stated that he really liked learning about this aspect of the character.[2]
(The names of all the bands in Scott Pilgrim have thus far been references to video games, with the exception of an unnamed band that plays during Volume 5 dressed up as skeletons.)
|
|
|||||
|
|||||||||||