Scott 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 aRickenbacker 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 capacity, 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.His hair is usually "messed up" for when Scott sees Ramona with his hair straight, she laughs. He often dreams of stupid games until Ramona tells him to get a job.
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."[4]
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.[5]Empire magazine also ranked Scott Pilgrim as the 40th greatest comic book character stating that Scott "is one of the most authentic twentysomethings ever committed to comic booky paper."[6]IGN also ranked Scott Pilgrim as the 69th greatest comic book hero of all time stating that they love Scott not just because he is 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.[7] In terms of Scott's height, O'Malley said that Scott is "a little taller than Ramona".[2]
Ramona 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 4th volume, 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 evilexes who challenge Scott for her affection. 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.[8][9] 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."[9] 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.[10][11] According to O'Malley, the particular detail about the brother is not applicable in the book version of Ramona.[1] Her natural haircolor is not stated. O'Malley said "Nobody knows her natural hair color. Ramona may not even remember. She changes it a lot because she’s trying to figure out who she is / who she wants to be."[2] On another occasion, when asked, O'Malley said "i don’t know… brown? How many natural hair colors are there really? she isn’t blonde. Honestly, i never thought about it… her hair color didn’t matter to me. because I was drawing a black & white comic. Her hair color is ‘whatever u desire~’"[12] For the new color editions of Volume 2 he kept Ramona's hair as purple, reserving the blue color spectrum for Ramona's hair for Volume 4 and onwards.[13] O'Malley said that if Ramona hypothetically broke up with Scott after Volume 6, she would change her hair to a a chin-length, "messy" bob with bangs that is dyed black and chopped; O'Malley explained that he never used this hairstyle for Ramona because it is too similar to the shape of Kim Pine's hairstyle.[14] In terms of Ramona's height, O'Malley said that it was "supposed to be tallish" meaning around 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) or 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m).[2] Ramona's subspace bag, like her hair, changes color periodically.[15] Throughout her dating history, Ramona had one "non-evil" ex, Doug, who O'Malley named after one of his real life friends.[16]
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."[17]
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 circumstances in which they met are 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 as fellow roommates. 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.
In terms of Wallace's height, O'Malley said that Wallace is "a little taller than Scott."[2]
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 drummer Lynette Guycott 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."[19] Wong added that Knives begins as an "unblemished teenager" who was sheltered and discovers new aspects of life with Scott, and she adds that "[a]nd then Scott breaks up with her and she’s forced to go back to her old life? No, she can’t go back now! No, not after she’s seen what exists out there, so she kind of fights for that and she wants to keep going, she’s just passionate, she’s determined, not annoying!"[20]
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."[21]
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 final cut ending versus 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."[21]
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..."[19]
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—or lack thereof—of his band's music, 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 with his life. 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.[23]Bryan Lee O'Malleysaid that the film version of Stephen Stills is homosexual, and that he remains closeted throughout the movie. O'Malley said that he "maybe doesn’t fully understand himself yet."[24]
Kimberly "Kim" Pine is Scott's high school friend and drummer of Sex Bob-omb. 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. She had to confront him after finding out from their mutual friend, 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, first used it for a character in the short-lived comic strip "Style" before using it for the Scott Pilgrim series.[25] After viewing edits on TVTropes, O'Malley explained that Kim Pine is not necessarily less attractive than other characters, but that she believes she is less attractive than other characters, and therefore "is insecure and/or uncomfortable with her looks".[26] O'Malley explained that "Kim says Envy is pretty and looks bummed and clearly thinks Envy is prettier than her. But Envy is on the cover of a magazine, she’s a rock star, she’s wearing tons of makeup and she’s been professionally styled and photoshopped. Plus Scott dated her after Kim and it’s confusing. There’s more to it than “Envy is pretty! Kim is ugly so she’s sad!”"[26]
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.[27] Pill learned to play the drums for the role and performs on the soundtrack.[28]
In terms of Kim's height, O'Malley said that it was "medium".[2]
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 apathetic 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.[citation needed] His nickname is a reversal of Neil Young, a frequent collaborator of musician Stephen Stills.
In regards to his hair color, when a Tumblr user asked Bryan Lee O'Malley why the character's hair color was "light brown-nearly blond" in the color section of Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together but in the new color editions had a brown color that is darker than Scott's color, O'Malley replied saying that "the reason is that i don’t care what color young neil’s hair is lol who’s young neil even?"[29]
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.
Stephanie was a roommate of Stephen Stills while they attended university. After Stephanie moved out to pursue further education, Neil moved in, and Neil became a part of Stephen Stills's social circle. O'Malley said "That’s about as far as I thought it through. It was really just an explanation for why they’d have a younger friend, and this sister/roommate setup was based on an IRL friend."[2]