Scott Pilgrim
Scott Pilgrim is a series of graphic novels by Canadian author and comic book artist Bryan Lee O'Malley. The series is about Scott Pilgrim, a slacker and part-time musician who lives in Toronto, Ontario, and plays bass ‍in a band. He falls in love with American delivery girl Ramona Flowers, but must defeat her seven evil exes in order to date her in peace. The series consists of six digest size black-and-white volumes, released between August 2004 and July 2010, by Portland-based independent comic book publisher Oni Press. It was later republished by Fourth  Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins. Full-colour hardback volumes, coloured by Nathan Fairbairn, were released from August 2012 to April 2014. A film adaptation of the series titled "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" starring actor Michael Cera in the title role was released in August 2010. A developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade was released the same month. Development. Creator Bryan Lee O'Malley was inspired to create the series and eponymous character of Scott Pilgrim after listening to Canadian band Plumtree's 1998 single "Scott Pilgrim", a song then-Plumtree singer Carla Gillis describes as "positive , but...also bitter sweet." In particular, O'Malley was inspired by the lyric, "I’ve liked you for a thousand years." O'Malley wanted to write a shōnen-style comic book series, although he had only read one such series at the time, "Ranma ½"; in the early 2000s, Japanese manga had not yet achieved significant popularity in North America. O'Malley gained inspiration from the book "Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga" by Koji Aihara and Kentaro Takekuma. In 2002, O'Malley's roommate, who worked in a comic book store, brought the book to him while O'Malley was working on "Lost at  Sea" and was planning "Scott Pilgrim". Upon reading the book O'Malley realized that, despite the satirical tone, it could be an effective guide to how the Japanese comic book industry worked. O'Malley said that "Ranma ½" was the strongest influence and Atsuko Nakajima, the character designer of the "Ranma ½" anime and other anime, was an influence to a lesser extent. He added that the "exploded page layouts" of "Koudelka", a work by Yuji Iwahara, directly influenced the "full-bleed layouts" of "Scott Pilgrim". O'Malley said that Osamu Tezuka began influencing his work as he created Volumes 3 and 4 . He said, "You can see his influence start to creep in here and there but he’s a larger inspirational figure to me than just his drawing style." In regards to the "FLCL" anime, O'Malley said that while it was an influence, it was "not as much of a direct influence on "Scott Pilgrim" as people seem to think." O'Malley used black and white because it was less expensive than creating the series in color, and so O'Malley said that he "embraced the B&W manga aesthetic". When writing the series, O'Malley's first step was developing the direction of the  story by creating notes in notebooks, sketchbooks, and computer text files. His second step was to create an outline. His third step was to write a script. His fourth step was to develop thumbnails. His final step was to develop the finished comic book page. To ink, O'Malley usually used brushes, including No. 2 and No. 3 brushes. He mostly used computers to build the screentone; he stated that he encountered difficulty finding screentone in North America. O'Malley himself created most of the "Scott Pilgrim" material. When production on Volume 6 had begun, O'Malley had hired two assistants. The backgrounds  in Volume 6 are more detailed than backgrounds in the previous volumes (O'Malley said that "[m]ost fans don't seem to notice the change"). O'Malley stated that he wanted to create a "hybrid" work that received inspiration from American and Japanese comics, and that he "wanted to reach towards the japanese comics from my own starting point." When asked if he considers "Scott Pilgrim" to be a manga, O'Malley responded by saying "Um… No, I think I was just thinking about that today. I guess I was just thinking about the whole OEL thing. I think it’s influenced… I  like the term 'manga-influenced comics,' but I only like it because no one else likes it." O'Malley said that he expected "Scott Pilgrim" to sell around 1,000 copies. He did not expect the series to sell millions of copies and to produce a film adaptation. O'Malley cited the United States comics industry and how it differs from the Japanese comics industry; the United States comic book companies specialize in superhero comics and many newer concepts originate from underground comics. The United States also lacks weekly and monthly comic book magazines and American comic companies generally do not have the  system of story editors and assistants that Japanese comic companies have. O'Malley said that the most difficult portion of "Scott Pilgrim" to write was the ending. O'Malley deliberately did not consider constructing the ending until he began writing Volume 5. He intended for Volumes 5 and 6 to reflect one single story, with 5 being the "darkest hour" and 6 being "the redemption arc." O'Malley said "there was a lot of stuff to juggle, a lot of plot lines to tie up, and I just had to try and focus on the stuff that mattered most in the time I  had." In addition, he wanted to create an ending that would "compete[...] a little" with the ending of the film version; he was aware of "how BIG the finale was". About the ending, O'Malley said, "I think the stuff with the girls and the relationships works pretty well and the stuff with Gideon and the glow is weaker. But hey, some people love it warts and all, and it’s not like I’m gonna go back and change it." To illustrate his reasoning for eventually ending the "Scott Pilgrim" series, O'Malley used a quote from famed Belgian comics  writer and artist Hergé, creator, writer, and illustrator of the well-regarded "The Adventures of Tintin" comic book series, from 1929 until his death in 1983. Hergé told his wife, "And right now, my work makes me sick. Tintin is no longer me. And I must make a terrible effort to invent (him)… If Tintin continues to live, it is through a sort of artificial respiration that I must constantly keep up and which is exhausting me." O'Malley said, "If I was still doing Scott Pilgrim in ten years, I would be dead inside." O'Malley said that he did conceive  of a continuation centering on Scott and Ramona and involving the other major characters, except for Gideon and the other evil exes of Ramona. He said, "maybe in a few years I’d think about playing with Scott Pilgrim some more" and although "there doesn't need to be more Scott Pilgrim", he agreed that "more would be fun". The cover of the third Japanese "Scott Pilgrim" volume, which includes content from the original volumes 5 and 6, was based on an illustration from "Street Fighter Alpha 2" ("Street Fighter Zero 2"). O'Malley used the font Swiss 721 Bold Condensed , which was also used in the film. In later books, the regular weight and italic versions of this font were also used. M04 FATAL FURY is the pixel font used in Book 4 and beyond. Plot. Section::::"Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life" (Volume 1). Scott Pilgrim is a 23-year-old Canadian slacker living in Toronto with his sarcastic gay roommate Wallace Wells. He has started "dating" a Chinese-Canadian high-school girl, Knives Chau. Although his friends think it's scandalous, since she is only 17, Scott doesn't consider it a big deal as all they do is  chat about her school-life. It is implied during a phone conversation with his sister, Stacey, that this relationship is Scott's attempt to get over an ex. He is the bass player in the band Sex Bob-omb, along with his friends Stephen Stills (guitar) Kim Pine (drums) and "Young" Neil Nordegraf (who lives in the house they rehearse in) but Stephen is the only member who is recognized as being "the talent" and the other members rarely take the endeavor seriously. One night, Scott dreams about a girl on rollerblades that he's never met before whom he  later glimpses in real life, delivering a package to the library. Her repeated presence in his dreams and a coincidental meeting at a party thrown by Stephen's on-off girlfriend Julie Powers prompts him to become obsessed with finding out more about her. He discovers that she is Ramona Flowers, a girl who works for Amazon.ca and has recently come to Toronto from New York after a rumored messy break-up with someone named Gideon. Scott orders a few CDs from Amazon.ca as a pretext to meet her again, and receives an email from an unknown party (later revealed  to be Matthew Patel) challenging him to battle, but Scott pays it little heed and promptly deletes it. After another dream about Ramona, in which she is carrying his package, Scott wakes to find her at his door. She explains that she uses subspace portals as part of her job to cross long distances in seconds; one such route passes through Scott's brain, hence his dreams. Having convinced her he isn't a weirdo after their previous encounters, they spend the evening together and go back to her house during a heavy snowstorm. After blundering into her bedroom while  she is changing, Scott and Ramona kiss and sleep together, but don't have sex. The next day, Scott goes home. Wallace informs him that he needs to break up with Knives if he plans to pursue a serious relationship with Ramona, but when he meets her later in preparation for their gig at Club Rockit, Knives is considerably more forward than usual, and Scott fails to tell her. He also receives a letter from Matthew, which he again discards. After an opening performance by rival band Crash and the Boys, which features one song that is 0.4 seconds long  and another that leaves the audience comatose, Sex Bob-omb prepares to begin their set when Matthew descends upon the stage and engages Scott in a video game-style duel. He is revealed as Ramona's first evil ex-boyfriend, and has mystical powers that allow him to summon "demon hipster chicks". Scott prevails, his final attack obliterating Matthew and leaving behind a handful of coins. On the subway home, Scott and Ramona decide to become a couple, on the proviso that Scott agrees to defeat her other evil-exes. When Scott asks if Gideon is one of them, Ramona 's head glows and she starts acting distant, ensuring a long and awkward bus ride home. Section::::"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (Volume 2). In a flashback, we see Scott Pilgrim as a transfer student to St. Joel's Catholic High School in Northern Ontario, seven years before the series began. As soon as Scott arrives on campus, he is faced with three hoodlums, whom he fights and ultimately loses to. Outside the principal's office, Scott meets a girl named Lisa Miller who immediately befriends him. Scott and Lisa attempt to start a band (Sonic & Knuckles), only to realize that  they are missing a drummer. Meanwhile, Scott meets Kimberly Pine in his geography class and grows increasingly fond of her, only to find out later at a school performance that she plays the drums. Lisa and Scott scheme to ask Kim to join the band, but when Scott shows up to school the following Monday, he finds out she has been kidnapped by students from the rival Benvie Tech High School. Another game-esque battle ensues and Scott defeats all the evil Benvie Tech Boys, including the final boss, Simon Lee, and rescues Kim. The two start dating and Kim  joins Sonic & Knuckles until Scott moves to Toronto. Ramona Flowers then steps into Scott's dream/flashback to wake him up. Scott and Wallace ride the bus together, and Wallace tells him that ex-skateboarder/actor Lucas Lee, Ramona's second evil ex-boyfriend, is filming a new movie in Toronto. Wallace also issues Scott one of his "famous ultimatums," telling him he must break up with Knives, threatening to tell Ramona about her if he doesn't. Scott goes to meet Knives and awkwardly breaks it off right after she tells him she loves him, but is cheered by  thoughts of Ramona. Elsewhere, Kim wakes up after having a dream in which Simon Lee killed Scott. She heads to No-Account Video, where she shares a small exchange with colleague Hollie Hawkes; later Scott shows up at the video store to rent several of Lucas Lee's films to prepare for his next battle. Meanwhile, Ramona visits the Second Cup, where Stacey Pilgrim works, and the two exchanges pleasantries, giving Scott, who is at his apartment, an "ominous feeling". Later Knives, still shaken up by the breakup, goes to Scott's apartment to see if he's there and  Wallace tells her to leave. The following day Scott and Ramona go on another date and end up watching one of Lucas Lee's movies. While watching the movie, Ramona's head glows again, but it quickly subsides and the two embrace and kiss before going to sleep. Scott is woken up in the early hours by a call from his parents, who are currently touring Europe; Scott reveals he has a girlfriend to them. Later Scott and Ramona go to Stephen Stills' house with their friends. Unbeknownst to the group, Knives is watching them from the kitchen window and , after seeing Scott with Ramona, freaks out. Knives then calls her friend Tamara Chen, and gives herself a total makeover, including dying part of her fringe red in an effort to get Scott's attention. She then decides to take out Ramona in order to win Scott back. Meanwhile, Scott and Ramona are hanging out at Ramona's apartment, where it is revealed she owns a pet cat called Gideon. Ramona then briefly talks about her and Lucas's relationship. The next day, Scott goes to meet Lucas at his filming location, the Casa Loma. Lucas immediately beats Scott up , after which they take a lunch break and Lucas tells Scott about how Ramona broke his heart, and how there is a League of Ramona's Evil Ex-Boyfriends who have organized themselves to come after Scott. Initially, Lucas offers to let Scott go if the latter would give him all his money, which Scott refuses. Scott then challenges Lucas to a skateboard competition; Lucas at first claims that riding down the rails at the castle is "impossible" but would rather take on the challenge than lose face. He starts out well but reaches 309 kph which is "too fast  to live" and bursts into coins. Scott gets an item, a Mithril Skateboard, but can't use it because he didn't take "skateboard proficiency" back in Grade 5. Scott walks into the Second Cup where his sister works only to be surprised that Julie Powers is working a shift there. Julie reveals that Stacey is with Ramona at the reference library, to which Scott is surprised to find that Ramona and Stacey are friends. Julie then mentions that his ex-girlfriend is back in town, only for Scott to run straight out of the store as soon as she  is mentioned. Meanwhile, Knives shows up at the reference library and attacks Ramona with her knives. Ramona counters the attack with an improvised staff made from a piece of modern art. Knives then recognizes Ramona from the library and believes Scott had been unfaithful to her since before that moment. The two continue to battle, and Knives eventually flees from the battle after repeatedly insulting Ramona. After the fight, Scott gets a call from Envy Adams, who asks him to open for her band, The Clash at Demonhead, that weekend. The conversation implies that they once had a relationship, and  after the phone call, Wallace arrives at the apartment to find Scott in a near-coma-like state. Scott reveals after band practice that Envy wants them to open for her band at a gig at Lee's Palace. Whilst Stephen is enthusiastic about the offer, Scott is less so and Kim comments enviously about Envy. Scott and his friends show up to see Envy's band on Friday. Whilst on their way there, Scott talks to Ramona about his relationship with Envy and his job at The Gilded Palace of Flying Burritos. When the two arrive at Lee's  Palace, it is revealed that Knives is now dating Young Neil, Stephen's roommate, to Stephen's horror. As The Clash at Demonhead plays, Ramona's third evil ex-boyfriend is revealed: Todd Ingram, the bassist. Section::::"Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness" (Volume 3). The story continues the night that Envy Adams's band, The Clash at Demonhead, performs. After the venue clears out, Scott spots a save point by the back door and attempts to run to it before Envy approaches him, but is too late. She invites Scott, Ramona, Kim, Stephen, Julie, Knives, and Young Neil backstage with  them to "chat". Knives announces to Envy that she has "kissed the lips that kissed you", and has the highlights punched out of her hair by The Clash at Demonhead's drummer, Lynette Guycott, who has a bionic arm. Knives and Young Neil leave. Scott, angered by Todd's arrogance, attempts to punch him, but is stopped by Todd's telekinetic powers. Envy (who is dating Todd) explains that Todd is vegan, and graduated top of his class in "Vegan Academy", thus granting his psychic powers. Todd explains that he gains his powers from using the extra 90% percent of  his brain, whereas non-vegans use only 10% of their brain and that the rest is "filled up with curds and whey." He then vows to destroy Scott. Amidst the confusion, both Sex Bob-omb and The Clash at Demonhead decide to wait until the next day to begin the fight. The story then unfolds with a series of flashbacks detailing the beginning of Scott and Natalie's (pre-"Envy") relationship. After the flashback, Envy tells Scott and the others that they will meet up at Honest Ed's the following day for a "surprise". Flashbacks continue, detailing Natalie's change  into Envy, her break-up with Scott once their band started to get noticed, and how Scott and Wallace came to be friends. Afterwards, Scott and Ramona go to get some late-night pizza at Pizza Pizza, where they meet Wallace and Other Scott and Wallace expresses his hatred for Envy. Scott and Ramona then spend the night at Ramona's apartment. Scott returns to his apartment in the pouring rain, but when he get there, the door is locked and he realized he gave his key to Wallace, who had forgotten his the previous night. Scott knocks on the  door to be let in, but there is no reply and Scott quickly falls asleep, not used to being awake at that time. Scott is then woke up by Wallace, who had left the apartment in order to walk Mobile, a man who had spent the night at the apartment, and to buy some coffee. On Saturday afternoon, Scott and the others show up at Honest Ed's. Envy tells Scott that he and Todd are going to have to fight to the death inside, and that whoever reaches the end of the store first wins. Scott and Todd dash  through the store, the contents of which are reminiscent of a haunted house, and Todd is mentally tormented by his past until he goes berserk and causes Honest Ed's to implode. Neither Scott nor Todd win the challenge, but plan to fight again the following night. The group then heads back to Stephen's apartment for band practice and Stephen freaks out their upcoming performance at Lee's Palace. Afterwards, Scott and Ramona go on another date. After the date, Ramona convinces Scott not to fight Todd that night and instead spend a cozy night at Ramona's apartment , to which Scott agrees. After an unsuccessful make-out session, Ramona begins to fill Scott in about her relationship with Todd. In a flashback to their college years, Todd proves his love to Ramona by using his newly-gained vegan powers to blow a crater in the moon. Scott then tries to talk about his past relationship with Envy and then to warn Ramona that in the event she should fight Envy, she should focus on Envy's weak point. Ramona asks him to talk about his past relationship with Kim. Scott's memory is foggy at best, and soon  snaps into an overly exaggerated (though somewhat accurate) story of how he remembers rescuing Kim, then goes to sleep. Envy, Todd and Lynette eat at a restaurant and Todd orders gelato which has eggs and milk in it. Envy then goes to the bathroom, being the only one who doesn't know that gelato contains milk and eggs, two ingredients that are against Vegan diets. Todd explains to Lynette that as a rock star, he feels he could do whatever he wants so long as no one gets hurt or even knows. He then proceeds to make out with Lynette  while Envy is still in the bathroom. Later that evening, Scott and his friends arrive at Lee's Palace for Sex Bob-omb's opening performance for The Clash at Demonhead. While waiting, the group watches Crash and the Boys, who had a hostile takeover, now known as "The Boys! And Crash!!". Scott then meets Envy at the back of Lee's Palace and the two talk about their relationship. Scott then notices an upset Knives sitting outside and, out of pity, goes to talk to her. Scott attempts to reconcile with Knives and tells her that Young Neil is  half decent, but Knives reveals that she only went out with Neil because he looked like Scott. Despite Scott's attempt to tell Knives that she should move on and forget about him, Knives once again expresses her love for Scott as he goes back into the club. Meanwhile, Kim talks to Ramona about how her relationship with Scott formed. While talking, the group notices Todd and Lynette making out, exposing their infidelity. Later on, the group notice that The Boys! And Crash!! were able to play without using instruments. Ramona encounters Envy at the bar, Ramona and Envy get  into an argument and begin to fight, Ramona armed with a giant mallet. Midway through, Sex Bob-omb appears on stage in costume (Stephen as Johnny Cash, Kim in a gothic lolita dress, and Scott in a second-hand suit). Scott sees Envy about to kill Ramona, and jumps from the stage to hit her "weak point", the back of her knees. Ramona tells Envy that Todd is cheating on her, and that he performed his Moon crater trick for Ramona first, which is why there are two holes on the moon. Envy denies this at first, until she sees  her boyfriend coming out of the bathroom, with Lynette right behind him. Seeing a pair of panties on his head, she finally figures it out and, in a fit of rage, ultimately "fires" Lynette, smashing off the drummer's bionic arm as she teleports out of the scene. Todd tries to get back in Envy's good graces, only to receive a swift knee to his crotch. Enraged, Todd uses his psychic powers to fling Envy to the front of the sound stage, then shamelessly flips off the shocked audience. Todd and Scott then proceed to have a Bass Battle , and Scott is aided by the powers of The Boys and Crash (the opening band for the evening). Todd almost wins the battle until the vegan police show up and strip him of his powers for multiple vegan offenses, such as eating the gelato earlier. Scott headbutts the powerless Todd, who is reduced to a pile of coins. Afterwards, Scott receives an extra life. Finally, Sex Bob-omb gets to play, while the audience comments on their performance (some consider them amateurish compared to the now-defunct Clash at Demonhead). As they play, the audience gives mostly positive critiques, except  for an indifferent man with a shadowy profile wearing glasses who merely says "No comment" and walks away. Scott notices the man briefly as he leaves. After an awkward talk later on, Envy bids Scott farewell before she heads to the airport. A disappointed Scott had hoped to get some sort of closure from his ex, but soon gets over it. It stops raining and the sun comes out, which makes Wallace remark that they still have the future to look forward to. Section::::"Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together" (Volume 4). The novel features a colored introduction before the volume actually  begins. It takes place during summer 2005, two months after Scott defeated Todd Ingram, as the characters have a get-together on the beach for Julie's birthday. Ramona tells Scott that he is the nicest boy she's ever dated. Later, at Julie's aunt's house, Scott accidentally walks in on Kim and Knives, who are drunk and making out. Later that August, Kim moves into an apartment with Hollie and Joseph. Stephen, who is volunteering to help, sees that Joseph has a home recording studio, and asks him to help Sex Bob-omb record an album. Joseph  agrees to it, but only because he is attracted to Stephen. A heat wave hits Toronto, and to escape it, Scott goes to the Dufferin Mall, where his old high school friend Lisa spots him and they catch up. Later, at Knives' house, Knives and her friend Tamara notice that the picture of Scott on Knives's shrine is slashed. Scott takes Lisa to Sneaky Dee's to re-acquaint her with Kim and introduce her to the rest of his friends, including Ramona. That night, Scott has a dream that he is wandering in a forest with an elf . Ramona shows up and starts to nag him, which prompts him to wake up and try to find a job. Scott first tries his luck at Second Cup, but is stymied when Stacey asks him if he really wants to work there. His attempts to get a job at No Account Video quickly fail after Kim points out that he doesn't have a resume, is not prepared for an interview, and owes the video store money in late fees. Kim brings Scott to The Happy Avocado, the vegetarian restaurant where Stephen Stills works. Scott is hired and vows to  be the best dishwasher ever, for which he gains 500 experience points. Afterward, Kim realizes that a man with a samurai sword has been following Scott. The man slices a streetcar in half and chases Scott, but Scott and Kim escape through a door that leads to a subspace portal. Later that day, Scott goes with Ramona to Stephen and Young Neil's place for band practice; upon arrival, Stephen notes that they can't practice as Kim's drum set is at Hollie's due to them currently recording their album. Later, after a recording session, the members of  Sex Bob-omb, along with Kim's housemates and Julie, go to Sneaky Dee's. When Knives shows up and sits next to Stephen, Julie freaks out and Scott decides to leave. The next day, Scott and Wallace venture to the financial district to meet with their landlord, Peter. Peter tells them that they must re-sign the lease or leave by August 27. Scott goes to his first day of work at the Happy Avocado. Afterwards, Scott is attacked by a ninja. When he counter-attacks, he discovers that the ninja is a girl. Too winded to make a  proper introduction, she tells Scott that they will meet again and disappears. Confused, Scott goes back to his apartment, calls Ramona to ask her about the recent encounter, and leaves her a message as she is out. The band continues to record their album and once again go to Sneaky Dee's. Lisa pulls Scott out to the street, where she drunkenly makes a pass at him. That night, Scott and Wallace lie in bed awake, and Wallace tells Scott that they must decide whether or not to move out. The following afternoon, Scott is working at the Happy Avocado  with Stephen when he suddenly spots the girl who attacked him. Ducking down in terror, he asks Stephen to see who she's with, and Stephen replies that she's with Ramona. He then confronts the two, and eventually Scott realizes that the ninja is in fact one of Ramona's exes and a member of the League of Ramona's Evil Exes. The ninja, Roxie Richter, prepares to fight Scott, but Scott cowers behind Ramona, not wanting to fight Roxie by using the excuse that she's got a sword. Ramona then allows Scott to hide in her subspace  Suitcase and asks him to pass her a weapon. Ramona and Scott then travel to through a nearby subspace door and Ramona prepares to battle Roxie herself. Ramona appears to have the upper hand during the battle, but she is eventually out-maneuvered by Roxie's superior speed and is knocked back into submission. Roxie then leaves subspace, leaving Scott confused and Ramona downtrodden. Afterward, Ramona tells Scott about Roxie and how she's become an accomplished artist. Scott then subtly asks if he can move in with Ramona and she reluctantly agrees. They then go with the rest of  the group once again to Sneaky Dee's, but Ramona becomes suspicious of the relationship between Scott and Lisa. On the way back from Sneaky Dee's, Ramona confronts Scott and after a heated argument, leaves him for the evening. Scott stumbles upon Wallace in bed with his (unseen) boyfriend Mobile. Wallace tells Scott that he has been fired from his job at the Happy Avocado due to the commotion earlier that day. Having nowhere to go and unwilling to face Ramona, Scott resorts to calling Lisa and asking to stay the night with her at her sister's. While  there, he and Lisa question why they never got together. Scott admits to having a fight with Ramona, and Lisa suggests that they hook up. The chapter cuts to Scott having another dream in the woods, where he encounters a half-angelic/half-demonic Ramona who asks him if he really wants her, since he can't seem to remember the password. Roxie appears and starts to chase him, slicing off one of his arms with her katana. He wakes up and Lisa tells him that nothing happened between them and that Scott confessed his love for Ramona to her . Relieved, Scott leaves and goes back to the Happy Avocado to get his job back. He succeeds, primarily due to the fact that they had no one to replace him yet. After his shift, Scott heads to Second Cup. Upon entering, he realizes that he is in a different Second Cup and finds Knives working at the counter. He turns to leave, but spots the man who first attacked him. Knives exclaims that it's her dad and realizes that because she was dating a white boy, his brain broke in half, only to "be replaced by a purely mechanical  engine of revenge." Mr. Chau then spots Scott and gives chase. Scott escapes into subspace, where he finds Ramona, dressed scandalously and sitting at the foot of a shadowy figure. Enraged, Ramona chases him out of subspace, and they end up on her front lawn. After he explains that he was only fleeing another attempt on his life, she calms down and tells him to forget what he saw. He tells her that he spent the night at Lisa's because he couldn't go home and didn't dare call her. Before she can react, Roxie appears and complains  that she's trying to sleep. Thinking that Ramona may have cheated on him, Scott's head begins to glow. Too deflated to explain the situation, Ramona tells Scott to "walk it off", and he stumbles off. After collapsing in the middle of a busy road, he becomes aware of a person standing over him. On looking up, Scott sees a doppelganger of himself with a sinister sneer. Scott charges through the double, and it vanishes. On arriving at Ramona's house, he is confronted by Mr. Chau, who followed him through subspace and is now chasing her. Scott lures  Mr. Chau into Ramona's home and Roxie, believing that Mr. Chau is an agent of Gideon sent to do her job for her, charges him with her katana. The momentum sends her and Mr. Chau over the edge of the second-floor balcony, all while Roxie taunts Scott for being too scared to fight her. When Ramona comments that Roxie has a point, Scott finally gets up the nerve to tell Ramona that he loves her and gains 9,999 experience points. As a result, he levels up and gains the Power of Love, a longsword which he uses to  slice Roxie in half. Roxie taunts Scott about the upcoming exes, and her body then explodes into bunnies, birdies, and piglets. Realizing Mr. Chau is still there, Scott assures him that he hardly even touched his daughter and always respected her; apparently satisfied, the old man bows and disappears. Scott then kisses Ramona and declares that he loves her, and Ramona tells him she loves him too. They decided to move in together. Meanwhile, Mr. Chau tells Knives in Chinese that he thinks Scott is a decent man and that perhaps dating a white boy isn't such a bad  idea. Knives, however, has no idea what he is saying since she doesn't understand Chinese. Later, at a Korean restaurant, Scott learns that Wallace has decided to move in with his boyfriend, while Lisa announces that she's finally gotten her papers to move to the US. Section::::"Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe" (Volume 5). It is the 27th of September 2005, Scott's 24th birthday. There is a time skip to a Day of the Dead-themed party thrown by Julie in her new studio apartment. While at the party, Ramona Flowers spots her next two evil ex-boyfriends , the twins Kyle & Ken Katayanagi, who were invited to the party by Julie. Scott approaches them and prepares to fight, but instead is forced to fight their robot, Robot-01. Whilst Scott is fighting the robot, Knives talks to Stephen, who reveals that he and Julie have broken up again; he then tells Knives that Scott cheated on Knives with Ramona, which shocks Knives. Scott then defeats Robot-01 and "wins the party." Throughout November, Scott and Ramona's relationship falls into a monotonous routine, with Ramona clearly being distressed about something and becoming increasingly distant to Scott. Later, Sex Bob-omb  prepares for a show at Sneaky Dee's that Julie sprung on the band as revenge for their break-up, even though they haven't rehearsed in months due to Stephen's persistent but fruitless recording, causing the band's performance to have severely dropped from when they performed at Lee's Palace. Backstage, Stephen tells Scott that they're opening with Erasmus; however, Scott forgets this and tells Kim that they're starting with Herself the Elf, causing Stephen and Kim to attempt to start out with entirely different songs. Meanwhile, Ramona encounters Knives in the bathroom, and after  a small fight, Knives tells her that Scott cheated on them at the same time. Ramona leaves to find Scott onstage destroying another one of the twins' robots breaking his bass in the process. The concert is revealed to have been a trap deployed by the twins to get Scott off-guard. On the way home, Scott admits that he forgot his keys and Ramona refuses to let him in for the night, claiming that she needs some time alone. Scott stays with Wallace, who asks about the twins. Scott tells him that their last name is "Katamari." Wallace reveals  to Scott that he has found pictures of Gideon Graves, all of which are blurry or indistinct. The next day, Scott goes to No-Account Video to find Kim leaving and tells Scott that he "[doesn't] need to see Hollie" implying that the two had a fight. Scott then goes with Kim to Stephen's place to find him; while there, they come across Young Neil who is smoking in his room and acts rather coldly to Scott and Kim. That night, Scott stays on Kim's couch and asks Kim to help arrange a setup so that he  can casually bump into Kim and Ramona while they get coffee. The setup is so pathetic that it actually works. The three talk, and Kim reveals that her boyfriend, Jason (who Scott didn't even know was dating Kim), had cheated on her with Hollie. As they talk, Ramona's head begins to glow, while Scott tries to casually keep the conversation going. Kim goes for the blunt option and asks what's wrong with Ramona's head, confusing Ramona as she is unaware of the glow. When Kim takes Ramona to the bathroom to show her the glow, it  stops. The group then attends another one of Julie's parties and Ramona bumps into Young Neil. Scott then encounters the twins once again and is forced to fight yet another robot. Meanwhile, Ramona is smoking on the balcony where Kyle Katayanagi approaches her and reveals some truths about Ramona's nature. Kim then approaches Ramona on the balcony, who Ramona believes may be Kyle again and starts shouting. When Kim tells her to settle down, her head glows again and Kim takes a picture with her camera phone of Ramona's head. Kim and Ramona proceed to get drunk , and after defeating the robot, Scott joins them. Later, Kim takes the subway home, and is kidnapped by the twins. Ramona and Scott stumble home and have sex. Afterward, Ramona confronts Scott about whether he cheated on her with Knives or vice versa. He blurts out that he cheated on Knives with her. Her head then glows again, and she tells Scott that he is a bad person and "another Evil Ex waiting to happen". Fearing that his stupidity may lead to an impending breakup, Scott apologizes and vows to make everything better upon defeating the twins the next day  and then Gideon. In the morning, he notices a text message from Kim about her kidnapping. Scott leaves, telling Ramona where he went. Ramona, in the shower, doesn't hear this and storms out of the bathroom demanding to know what Scott was yelling about, only to discover that he had already left. Ramona then removes a towel from her head, revealing her new haircut. Scott arrives at a construction site to rescue Kim. Scott is unable to perform at his fullest as he nursing a hangover and is troubled by his relationship with Ramona. The twins explain that Ramona  cheated on both of them with one another and mock his belief in her fidelity. Kim attempts to bolster Scott's morale whilst also attempting to draw his attention to herself, but fails. As he begins to lose the fight, Kim lies and says that Ramona texted her to give Scott encouragement. Scott is motivated, and defeats the twins simultaneously, racking up a massive bonus. Scott rushes back to the apartment to find Ramona, who tells Scott that she is a bad person. Scott tries to calm her down, saying that he loves her no matter what, but Ramona's  head begins to glow brighter and brighter and she disappears, claiming that she "had a good time." Scott tries to look for her, but instead lets her cat out and locks himself out of her apartment. Over the next few days, Scott bed-hops and tries to get Ramona's cat to come back by feeding it fish. Scott then goes to Kim's, who reveals that Hollie had sold the couch, forcing Scott to spend the night sharing a bed with Kim. While there, Kim tells Scott that she is going to move back home with her parents. Scott  spends a night at Wallace's place where he meets Mobile, who Scott immediately mistakes for Gideon because they both wear glasses. A couple of days later, Kim departs to her parents and Scott sees her off. Scott apologizes to her for his behavior, for which she accepts. Some time later, Scott moves into a new apartment paid for by his parents. While there, Scott notices a person with thick-rimmed glasses, who he mistakes for Gideon and kicks to the ground. Scott's parents then reveal that the person is his brother, Lawrence West, who Scott vaguely remembers. Lawrence  came to get his bass guitar back from Scott, who gives it to him (failing to mention that it is broken) and the family leaves Scott alone. Scott then receives a telephone call from Gideon, who asks, "When would it be convenient for you to die?" Section::::"Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour" (Volume 6). Scott has a nightmare, in which he sees an image of Ramona. He dashes to it, but it suddenly turns into an image of Gideon who tells him he's waiting, before a flash blinds him. In the real world, it has been four months since Ramona  disappeared. Scott wastes away his time playing video games on his couch despite efforts from Wallace and Stephen to get him to go out. When he visits, Stephen reveals he started a new band. That night, Scott has a dream of Ramona impaling him with the Power of Love sword then being attacked by shadow creatures resembling Kim, Knives and Envy. Scott wakes up and heads to the Cameron House to hear Stephen's latest band. While there, Scott learns about Gideon's new club, the Chaos Theatre, which will open soon. He also runs into Knives, now 18, and  learns she'll be moving away to go to college. Scott offers to have casual sex with her, which she declines. The two reconcile after Knives explains she is slowly getting over Scott and moving on with her life. She offers to make out with him, which he accepts; however, they quickly stop after realizing how horrible it was. Scott later makes his way to a party in a daze He meets Young Neil while there and learns that Envy is at the party. He tries to make fun of her when he see her but only ends up embarrassing  himself and apologizes profusely to Envy. The next morning, Envy calls and the two go out for coffee to catch up, though Scott can barely pay attention. Later, he meets with Wallace who reveals that Envy recently turned 25. That night, Scott gets a call from Kim telling him to come visit her. Gideon the cat comes back that night and Scott sleeps peacefully. The next day he meets with Envy again and the two talk about their past relationship, though Scott seems to have trouble remembering anything about it, especially the infamous New Year's incident. Envy then reveals  it was actually Scott who started the fight during the party that led to their break up. Gideon suddenly appears during their conversation; Scott is intimidated by his presence and runs away. Some time later, Wallace forces Scott to leave town for a "Wilderness Sabbatical" in hopes of getting Scott to clear his head and train for his battle with Gideon. Scott is reluctant but eventually heads north and stays with Kim and her parents. After breakfast one day, Scott and Kim head into the woods. They talk about what it means to grow up, during which Scott tries to  restart his relationship with her. Kim declines, mentioning how he moved away and neglected to tell her any details on the matter, which she heard about from Lisa. Kim also reveals that the incident with Simon Lee wasn't the epic brawl Scott thought. As it turns out, Simon was actually a nerdy Chinese kid who Kim was dating at the time, and Scott attacked him simply because he saw Simon hug her. Upon hearing this, Scott's head begins to glow and he once again spots his dark alter ego, Nega-Scott. A fight ensues between the two. During  the fight, Kim tells him that if he keeps making mistakes, the fight against his dark side will never end, and she doesn't know what will happen if he continues. The words hit Scott hard as he suddenly remembers Ramona, and realizes he has been repressing his love for her to escape reality. Nega-Scott stops its assault and merges back into him as Scott finally acknowledges his mistakes, commenting he doesn't deserve Ramona back. Kim gives him encouragement tells him to fight and earn her back. She gives him one last kiss before Scott returns to Toronto . Meanwhile, Envy and Gideon are preparing for the opening of the Chaos Theatre. Envy is overworked and asks Gideon to take a break. He comments that all the work is necessary, and dressing her up is very fulfilling to him; she retorts that he merely sees her as a doll. Scott arrives in town and reaches the Chaos Theatre on its opening night to look for Ramona. Along the way he meets up with Wallace, passes by Stephen, runs into Julie and her friends, his sister Stacey, Young Neil (finally acknowledging him as "Neil"), and finally Knives and Tamara. The  show suddenly begins with Envy as the opening act. The lyrics clue Scott in that Gideon is near him, and the final battle begins. During the fight, Gideon reveals he didn't take Ramona and is surprised that Scott came without her, as the night's events were planned around Ramona. Gideon stuns Scott with a punch and pulls out Scott's sword, the Power of Love, from his body. Upon learning that Ramona has left him, Gideon offers to make Scott the newest member of the League of Evil Exes. Scott refuses, to which Gideon responds by impaling him  with his sword, killing Scott. He then buys everyone a round of drinks. Scott finds himself in subspace, lamenting his defeat, when Ramona suddenly tells him he is just having a dream. The two talk, during which Ramona apologizes for leaving Scott so suddenly, and explains she only did so to find herself; not to hurt Scott, though it had the opposite effect. Ramona also reveals that she only came back to apologize to Scott to make herself feel better. Scott stops her mid-sentence with a kiss. Ramona stops him, but Scott tells her that he has already forgiven  her, and they might as well make the best of the dream. Ramona reveals that Scott actually is dead; however, the extra life he got back in Volume 3 suddenly appears, and Scott finds himself in the Chaos Theater, revived. Ramona soon arrives by coming out of him through subspace. Seeing this, Gideon falls back on his original plan and reveals seven frozen capsules above the stage. Inside the capsules are six girls dressed in tattered nightgowns, with the seventh capsule empty. Gideon reveals that they are his former girlfriends whom he has kept frozen in order to revive and  date at a later time. He wishes for Ramona to join them, to which Ramona declines, thus initiating the final battle. Gideon reveals his ability to use the glow as a sort of projectile, and fires it as a wide spray of light at the crowd before attacking Scott and Ramona with his sword. During the battle, Scott and Ramona begin succumbing to the effects of the glow, which causes them to argue. Scott asks why he is fighting Gideon in the first place since Ramona left him, to which Ramona says she's right here fighting beside him. Scott  then asks who started this mess in the first place. Gideon blames Ramona, revealing that after she left him, he got drunk and posted a rant on Craigslist. Much to his surprise, Ramona's exes responded, thus starting the league. Ramona figures they didn't turn evil until after meeting Gideon. She then asks why Gideon wants her back, as he always pushed her away during their relationship. His Memory Cam indeed proves this, but he refuses to acknowledge it. Seeing no way to defeat Gideon, Ramona begins to disappear again, but is stabbed by Gideon mid-teleport and mortally  wounded. Gideon then realizes how she left him the first time: using the glow to go into subspace. He exposes how he got so rich, saying that he used the glow as emotional warfare by sealing people inside their heads with their issues. Gideon then vanishes. As Ramona lies dying on the floor, she tells Scott that Gideon can literally get inside people's heads - specifically her head. This inspires Scott to enter subspace too, and so he uses Ramona's bag as a portal into her mind. Once there, he confronts a twisted form of Gideon, which is seen  as a god surrounded by his former girlfriends, including a chained Ramona, who seems head over heels for him. He claims that this was her "innermost desire" and he starts growing in size. Fed up with his arrogance, Scott headbutts Gideon with the glow, returning Gideon to his original size. Gideon slashes Scott in half, commenting that not only is he immune to the glow since he has been trapped in his own mind since childhood, but also that Scott has no power in Ramona's head. Suddenly, the enslaved version of Ramona transforms into the real Ramona, who has  entered her own mind to set things right. She admits that part of her does belong to Gideon, but the other parts of her, which appear in the form of multiple past Ramona designs, are finished with him. Finally free of Gideon's control, she orders him to get out of her head. Gideon agrees to do so, but not before finishing off Scott. The army of Ramonas surge forth to defend Scott just as Gideon moves to deliver the killing blow. The trio end up back in the real world where Ramona blocks Gideon's strike with her purse , breaking the subspace inside it. The suitcase explodes, sending all manner of junk flying out of the purse, knocking Gideon off his feet. Ramona then takes Scott's Power of Love Sword, which heals her wounds, and officially declares her relationship with Gideon over. Envy asks if Gideon is okay, and he coldly rebuffs her. Scott witnesses this and, upon recalling his own breakups with Envy, Knives, Kim, and Ramona, realizes that he has been no better at relationships than Gideon. He then looks at the crowd and sees his friends, including a vision of Kim, all watching and waiting  for him to finish the fight. He realizes that despite his past mistakes, he can still redeem himself and become a better person. With this understanding, Scott levels up and gains a new sword from his body, the Power of Understanding, and stands ready with Ramona to finish the fight. Gideon grabs Envy and pulls out a sword from her dress, and the fight begins again. During the fight, Gideon reveals he was spying on Scott and Ramona through Scott's head via the subspace highway, "spicing up" some of Scott's boring high school memories along the way, which  is why Scott was having memory problems throughout the series. This only infuriates Ramona even more, who disarms Gideon. He comments that getting rid of him won't change anything since they're their own worst enemy. Scott and Ramona agree together that he's much worse and finish him off. Gideon bursts into $7,777,777 worth of coins which rain down on the crowd. Envy confronts the duo next, but hugs Scott, which he views as closure for their past relationship. Envy also mentions that she wanted a relationship with Gideon but knew it would never work out. With  that, Envy continues the show as Gideon's ex-girlfriends are released from their capsules. Afterwards, Scott and Ramona meet up with the others, who mention the club getting shut down after that night. Scott recalls what happened in the bag, though the others don't believe him, and Ramona reveals where she went after she disappeared: back to her dad's house to try and get herself together. Leaving the club, Scott and Ramona reaffirm their relationship and agree to give it another shot. The next night after work, Scott finds out that Stephen is gay and is currently  dating Joseph. Scott and Kim try to start a new band called Shatter Band. The next day, Scott sees Knives off to college. Finally, Scott meets up with Ramona, who is waiting for him at a subspace door, ready to begin their relationship anew. With that, they hold hands and disappear into subspace together. Publications. The main graphic novel series is: Other appearances: All of these ancillary stories are available to read on the Scott Pilgrim Website. A collector's box containing all six volumes and a fold-in poster was released in North America on November 3, 2010. "Scott  Pilgrim's Precious Little Life" was re-released in color in August 2012, with the others being released on an irregular schedule, the last in May 2015. The hardcover color editions contain bonus content such as original sketches and creator notes. The entire series was re-released in color again in July 2019 as the "Scott Pilgrim Color Collection", collected into 3 larger-format paperback volumes. These three books were released individually and as a box set. Critical reception. Publishers Weekly ranked the third volume, "Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness", as one of the best comic books of 2006 in  a critics' poll. Scott Pilgrim was ranked 85th on Wizard magazine's 2008 list of the "200 Greatest Comic Characters of All Time". In 2007, O'Malley was interviewed by The A.V. Club for the fourth volume. Written by Jason Heller, the article states that "Gets It Together" is "his best to date." The article goes on to praise O'Malley's consistent bold stylistic choices, saying that he "has raised the bar, art-wise: His deceptively basic style is suddenly deeper, richer, and more mature, while his eye for dynamics and graphic economy has gotten even keener." In 2011 Scott Pilgrim  was ranked 69th in IGN's list of the top 100 comic book heroes. Japanese comics author Kentaro Takekuma said in an interview that the structure and style of "Scott Pilgrim" initially did not match the structure and style of Japanese comics, but when he read the battle scenes "it feels very much like a Japanese manga, especially in how you structured the panels. It develops into a very strange, neither American nor Japanese atmosphere." Comics author Koji Aihara added that "I did feel the inspiration from Japanese manga, but it did not strike me as a ripoff of manga  style, but a very unique way of expression, I found it a very interesting work. I appreciated you using your own style of expression. Also, I thought your use of solid blacks was very skilled and attractive." Awards. In 2005, O'Malley won the Doug Wright Award for Best Emerging Talent for the first volume of "Scott Pilgrim" and was nominated for three Harvey Awards (Best New Talent, Best Cartoonist and Best Graphic Album of Original Work). In 2006, O'Malley was awarded Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist (Writer/Artist) in the Joe Shuster Awards. He was previously nominated in the same  category in 2005. O'Malley was nominated for a 2006 Eisner Award in the category Best Writer/Artist—Humor, for "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World", but lost to Kyle Baker. O'Malley and "Scott Pilgrim" were also nominated for two 2006 Eagle Awards, and nominated for a second Wright Award (for "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World"). In 2007, O'Malley won the Harvey Award. The series was also awarded a spot in Entertainment Weekly's 2007 A-List. In 2010, O'Malley won his first Eisner Award in the "Best Humor Publication" category for "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe." In other media. Film. The  film "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" was released on August 13, 2010. It is based on all six volumes of the graphic novel series, despite the different ending due to the sixth volume having been released after the film finished shooting. The film is directed by Edgar Wright and stars Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Scott and Ramona, respectively. The film was a critical success, but did not fare well commercially in cinemas. However, its commercial fortunes improved after being released on Blu-ray and DVD. The DVD includes extras including bloopers, outtakes, deleted scenes, storyboards (which include  the ending provided by the comics), and trailers. The 2-disc edition includes soundtracks, animation (when Scott dates Kim), and a making-of. Section::::"Scott Pilgrim vs. The Animation". At the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, Alison Pill (who plays Kim Pine in the movie), revealed that her character's past relationship with Scott will be explored in other media. "There will be a little something-something that will air on Adult Swim," she said. Creator Bryan Lee O'Malley elaborated by stating "It's gonna be like a series of short animations (to promote the movie). One of them will  be the Volume 2 high school stuff with Kim and Lisa Miller. I don't know how long it will be but the rough they showed me was like 5 minutes. The stars of the movie will do the voices for the cartoons." Michael Cera and Alison Pill reprise their roles of Scott Pilgrim and Kim Pine from the movie, whilst Mae Whitman and Jason Schwartzman, who play Roxanne Richter and Gideon Graves in the movie, provide voices for Lisa Miller and Simon Lee respectively. The animated short, entitled "Scott Pilgrim vs. the Animation", was produced by Titmouse Inc. and  aired on Adult Swim on August 12, 2010, later being released on their website. The short is based on the flashback from the second graphic novel, elaborating on Scott's adventures in high school. The animation features the songs "Post Acid" and "Beach Demon" by Wavves, though it is replaced with the film's soundtrack in the version included on the DVD/Blu-ray release of the film. Video game. A video game based on the series, also titled "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World", was announced during San Diego Comic-Con 2009 and was developed by Ubisoft Montreal, released alongside  the film. The game is a four-player side-scroller influenced by 8-bit and 16-bit video games, with players able to play as Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers, Kim Pine and Stephen Stills (Knives Chau and Wallace Wells were added later as downloadable characters; in the base game, they are respectively an assist character and a shopkeeper). After the player completes the game with Scott, Ramona, Stephen Stills, and Kim, they unlock NegaScott. Mr. Chau (Knives Chau's father), is also an unlockable assist character. The game features music by chiptune punk band Anamanaguchi and art direction by Paul  Robertson. The game was released on PlayStation Network on August 10, 2010 and Xbox Live Arcade on August 25, 2010. On December 30, 2014, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game" was delisted from the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. This follows the earlier delistings of the video games "Uno" and "Marvel vs. Capcom Origins". The game was delisted due to the licenses running out. On September 10, 2020, Ubisoft announced that the game would finally be re-released in honor of its 10th anniversary titled Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game - Complete Edition. The game was released  on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Stadia, on January 14, 2021, with all downloadable content packaged into the game. Mobile comic. A mobile adaptation of the comic book was produced by HarperCollins and Robot Comics. The app uses movement, sound and vibration to create an original reading experience and includes extra material hidden in the scenes of the comic. It was available for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android. Television series. An anime series based on the comics was announced to be in development by Universal Content Productions for Netflix on January 7, 2022 with O'Malley writing  and executive producing alongside BenDavid Grabinski, Japanese studio Science Saru providing the animation, Eunyoung Choi serving as producer, and Abel Góngora as director. Edgar Wright, Nira Park, Marc Platt, Jared LeBoff, Adam Seigel, and Michael Bacall will also receive executive producer credits for the series.