Evil twin ex-boyfriends, ass-kicking robots, and trouble in romantic paradise all attempt to hinder Scott’s awesomeness. Does it work?
Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe
Publisher: Oni Press
Creator: Bryan Lee O’Malley
Summary: Scott Pilgrim is at the top of his game: he just turned 24, he moved in with the girl of his dreams, and he defeated at least half of The League of Ramona’s Evil Exes. But life at the top is treacherous and if things can’t possibly get any better for Scott, it means they can only get infinitely worse! Scott’s band is in total turmoil, his own exes have all boarded the train to crazy town, and Ramona’s evil exes have started appearing in pairs! And what’s up with Ramona, anyway? She’s been acting kinda weird ever since she and Scott moved in together. It’s the second-to-last volume of the Scott Pilgrim series and it looks like Scott’s precious little life has come back around to bite him in the butt!
Review: In the previous volumes of Scott Pilgrim, we are introduced to a palette of colorful characters and situations. Scott appears to be the typical disillusioned mid-twenties kid: fresh out of college, in between jobs and trying to win the heart of the girl of his dreams, he also is a member of Sex Bob-Bombs, a garage band he shares with Kim Pine and Stephen Stills. However, the world of Scott is a little bit different than most people’s: Being super awesome, Scott somehow always finds himself in near death situations, fighting off the remaining of Ramona’s evil ex-boyfriends, or a number of other abominations that usually end in him victorious. What’s even stranger/funnier is the fact that fights to the death are ignored and even yawned at by innocent bystanders, still going about their business as usual.
Volume 5 finds our beloved hero knee-deep in a full-blown relationship with the girl of his dreams, Ramona. Already used to fighting off hordes of evil ex-boyfriends, Scott manages to beat out a number of angry robots courtesy of a pair of handsome twins (which are, of course, both of Ramona’s exes). Tension arises between the happy couple when the daily rituals of life get in the way of romantic bliss, as well as mistrust from both their ends’. Things take a nasty turn for the worse when Knives, Scott’s hopelessly devoted ex, finally manages to divulge Scott’s transgressions to Ramona, thereby provoking her to kick Scott out of their shared apartment.
The story focuses on the deterioration of Scott and Ramona’s relationship while still allowing for a few side quests, er, stories, to supplement the darker mood. His band, long retired from live shows to make time for recording, unsuccessfully attempts to make a comeback. Attempt being the keyword here. Regardless of their lack of planning and out-of-practice skill, the show is actually a set-up for the demise of Scott and all hell breaks loose. All is eventually tied together and explained when the twins show up, apparently behind the entire shindig. Fight some fights and a couple of levels more, we finally get some juicy background information on Ramona’s dark past, as well as some racy party scenes.
Volume 5 opens up a pandora’s box of emotional crescendos and unanswered questions that lie within Ramona and her final decision at the end of the story. The long-awaited final boss battle between Scott and Gideon has been set up with extreme finesse and has built up quite the anticipation over the course of his entire books. Executed with a darker tone, O’Malley broke a few reader’s hearts with the reality check he superimposed on our lovers in his fifth addition. Is Ramona the dream girl Scott has painted her out to be?
Scott Pilgrim is rich with pop culture references and even borrows lines from popular movies most are famaliar with. O’Malley’s obvious video game influence is laced all over his works; Scott Pilgrim is dripping with 8-bit grandeur in everything from the Game Over screens, the back cover art, and talk of final bosses. Its this extra touch that exalts an already entertaining story to the cult-like level it has become today.
Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 5 is on sale now and available at most comic retailers.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:04 am
I’ve been meaning to start reading Scott Pilgrim forever now. Can’t wait to start from the beginning!
Thanks for doing the reviews
August 14th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Loved this one - was unexpected and fun (and delved more into the other sides of the main character)! I’m constantly loaning out my copy to all my friends and forcing them to read it (they usually are pretty happy they did)
August 14th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
what I loved most about Volume 5 is that there were so many questions and thoughts that formed throughout the story
and that the characters became somewhat different
like how Scott became a little more mature and Ramona acting weird.
I also love how the story focused a part of Kim Pine, who becomes forgiving to Scott which is unlike her based from previous volumes
undoubtly the most maturest form of Scott Pilgrim
can’t wait for the final volume.
August 14th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
This book made me love Kim Pine even more than I alrerady did.
August 14th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I was legitimately sad by the end of this book, for Scott and Ramona, and I’m dying to know what happens. It’s rare that I actually feel a connection with characters in any type of fiction, whether it be comics, movies, cartoons, books, etc., but I think the Scott Pilgrim series hits close to home. And I bet that goes for a lot of people, not just myself, which is the great thing about a “slice of life” series. But to create characters that dimensional and real is a pretty amazing feat by Mr. O’Malley, and for that, he is truly an inspiration.
August 14th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I will admit it this volume made me cry, everything ended on such a down note, so many questions unresolved and so many characters that needed to brought back. I can’t wait for volume 6 to come out and I really hope everything is resolved, all minor characters come back and life for Scott and co. turns out alright.
August 16th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Kim Pine Be Mine!
This volume really sets up for volume 6. And its a shame that its so far away from now. But I bet the last volume will be as good as the other volumes.
…and one of the best covers of all volumes!