At the end of Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, the fourth volume of this series, it looked like Scott Pilgrim actually got it together. He had a job, a girl and everyone was happy at the end of that book. If Bryan Lee O’Malley had ended the series there, it would have been a nice, happy “and they lived happily ever after” ending for Scott, Ramona and the whole cast. But there’s that pesky business about Ramona’s three remaining evil boyfriends that Scott has to defeat and we really don’t know anything about Ramona’s shadowy past. So the fourth volume gave us a brief moment of happiness in the life of Scott Pilgrim, a moment we could all enjoy and it should be no wonder that the fifth volume Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe shows how Ramona’s past and Scott’s own past sins worm their way back into their lives and bring everything crumbling down.
A lot of people sound like they get hung up on the flashiness of Scott Pilgrim. Since the first volume, we’ve been bombarded by the series’ video-game/magical realism, where defeating the bad guy earns you coins and points. Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life was possibly one of the first comic books inspired by Nintendo and Mario as much as it was by Love and Rockets and Chris Claremont. Over the course of the series, the video-game logic has given way a slight bit as O’Malley has become more confident in his characters and in the love story that he’s trying to build. The video game elements are still present but are more background elements in the latest volume as O’Malley focuses on just how fragile Scott and Ramona’s relationship is.
Unlike the last couple of stories that have built up the cast with supporting characters only to have them exit the story by the end (Envy Adams in Volume 3 and Lisa Miller in Volume 4,) this book focuses on Scott, Ramona and their friends Kim, Stephen Stills, Knives Chau and Young Neil. They are the characters who have been there since the beginning and O’Malley has given each one of them enough of a background plot that they have their own stories that need to be followed and eventually concluded. Since the second volume, Scott’s friend, drummer and one-time girlfriend Kim Pines has played an increasingly larger role in the series. Like Scott, she’s moved through life without really growing up or maturing. She has a role to play in their social circle- the cynic who breezes through life without really caring for anyone or anything– but it’s only a role and in this volume, we get to see cracks in that role and by the end, she tries to move on and grow up a bit. Kim and Scott are a lot alike and that’s probably why they get along so well. But she actually grows up a little bit in this book while Scott remains Scott.
While the supporting characters all get their moments of story, the center of Scott Pilgrim Vs The Universe is clearly on Scott and Ramona as they try to figure out what the next step of their relationship is. Even though they’ve moved in together, they’ve both got secrets they’re keeping from each other. For the most part, we know Scott’s secrets but Ramona’s remain a mystery even to us. Now that they’re a true “couple” and living together, both feel the need to come clean but are scared to. That’s the heart of O’Malley’s story– the intimidating and scary idea of completely and honestly opening up to someone else.
Focusing on the relationship, O’Malley shows his growth as a storyteller. In earlier volumes, he was all about the bombast and flash of the book. There have been amusing asides, including recipes, and almost Bollywood-like music/fight sequences that helped establish the book and the characters. Most of the fantastical elements quite literally happen in the background while he continues on with his character moments for Ramona, Kim, Stephen Stills and Knives. The character’s stories don’t stop for the action as both co-exist in the same moments, something that O’Malley really hasn’t done before. In the previous books, you’ve either had a character scene or an action scene but now he easily brings them together. It actually makes the action more enjoyable as you see it in the distance, intruding on everyone’s lives. These battles with Ramona’s evil ex-boyfriends just add to the tention of Scott and Ramona’s relationship as they intrude on their everyday life.
With each new Scott Pilgrim book, Bryan Lee O’Malley has grown as an artist and as a storyteller. The silliness and ridiculousness of the first volume has developed into pleasing characterization and depth as we’ve gotten to know the cast. O’Malley is able to wring some true emotion out of his characters and drawings that I don’t think he has been able to do before. Scott Pilgrim may have started out as a bit of a joke but it’s become one of the first and great romance comics of the 21st century.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe
Written and drawn by: Bryan Lee O’Malley
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Tags: Bryan Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe