As a movie, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World did a fantastic job of translating the feel of the original graphic novel to the screen and introduced millions of people to Scott Pilgrim's not-so-simple life. As many movie adaptations do, though, lots of details from the graphic novel weren't mentioned or were changed entirely.
One of the differences starts right at the title: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was actually the name of the second volume in the Scott Pilgrim series, not the series as a whole. Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life perhaps didn't have the right ring to it, but that's far from the only difference between the movie and its source.
10 Scott Steals Matthew Patel's Line
In Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Scott and Matthew Patel, the first evil ex-boyfriend, fight right as Sex Bob-omb is about to start playing. The two exchange words and Matthew Patel tries to rhyme "Take this sucker down" with "Let us show him what we're all about" during his song.
In the graphic novel, Scott actually does all the rhyming. The lyrics to Patel's song are very close to the lines Scott says in the graphic novel to Patel, not the other way around. The entire scene seems to be a switch of each character's dialogue from the graphic novel.
9 Scott's Fighting Prowess Was Established Early In The Graphic Novel
In the movie version of Scott Pilgrim, Scott's friends are surprised to see that he can fight just like a character from a video game. He's portrayed as a pathetic, lanky, and soft-spoken guy, whereas in the graphic novel Scott's friends all knew how good he was at fighting well before this.
It was likely a decision made to not overstuff the script and have the transition from stylish Canadian film to stylish Video Game movie be more instantaneous. If the audience already knows Scott is a good fighter from the start, there's no shock when they see him matching Patel blow for blow.
8 The Mithril Skateboard Wasn't In The Movie
In the graphic novel, specifically Volume 2, Scott defeats Ramona's second evil ex-boyfriend Lucas Lee and receives a reward much like an RPG character might after defeating a boss. He gets Lucas' Mithril Skateboard which is apparently so special that it alters the rider's real-life stats.
Unfortunately, Scott never gets the Mithril Skateboard in the movie. In the graphic novel, the skateboard disappears after a moment because Scott chose not to learn how to ride a skateboard back in elementary school. It's funny, but it didn't mean much for the narrative.
7 The Extra Life Originally Came From Todd
In the movie, Scott Pilgrim gets an extra life when he defeats the Katayanagi twins in their epic battle of Kaijus controlled by music. This is right before he faces off against Gideon, who kills him and forces him to use the 1-UP for another attempt.
In the graphic novel, Scott got his extra life way earlier on. At the end of Volume 3, Scott picks up the 1-UP after defeating the vegan superhuman Todd Ingram. He still doesn't use it until the Gideon fight, though.
6 The Power of Self-Respect Was Different In The Graphic Novel
At the end of both the Scott Pilgrim movie and graphic novel series, Scott earns two swords. The first, the Power of Love, is the same in both – Scott earns this sword by confessing his love for Ramona and eventually it doesn't help him win.
In the graphic novel, Scott gets the Power of Understanding when he comes to terms with the fact that he and Gideon are not so different. In the movie, though, he gets the Power of Self-Respect instead, when he realizes he is actually fighting for himself, not Ramona.
5 Stephen Doesn't Come Out In The Movie
In the movie, Stephen Stills is presented as a caring but a scruffy guy who leads Sex Bob-omb and is perhaps the most worried about the future of the band. He's there to add dimensionality to Scott's friend group, but there's one detail left out from the movie.
Stephen is canonically gay in the graphic novels but doesn't mention it once in the movie. Edgar Wright, the director of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, said this decision was made because Stephen's character wasn't "ready" to come out in the film.
4 "The Glow" Is Not Mentioned Once In The Movie
The Glow is a supernatural force that Gideon uses to infiltrate people's minds through Subspace. It traps the victim in a prison of their own demons and actually makes their head visibly glow too (as the name might imply).
In the film, though, this central part of the graphic novel was left out. Instead, Ramona is shown with a chip in the back of her head that she says Gideon put there. Perhaps it was too complicated a concept and might not have been accurately portrayed in a movie with a watchable runtime.
3 Scott Gets A Job At The Happy Avocado In The Graphic Novel
Scott is shown in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World as a jobless semi-nobody who does nothing but play with his band and live day to day until Ramona comes into his life. In the graphic novel, he is shown actually providing a service to society.
When he goes looking for a job, Scott heads to The Happy Avocado where Stephen is a head chef. Stephen gets him a job, and he is shown throughout the series slowly taking on more responsibilities in the kitchen.
2 The Movie Happens In A Shorter Timespan
When one looks at how much time passed in the movie from the beginning of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World to the end, you would find that the movie takes place over a matter of weeks. The graphic novels, on the other hand, take place over a year.
There's no real reason for this except that it might have been more difficult to show events in their time-accurate seasons. Plus, the snowy aesthetic works to remind the viewer that the film takes place in the Great White North.
1 Roxy Was Introduced Early In The Movie
Roxy is Ramona's fourth evil ex, and her only evil ex-girlfriend. In Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Roxy suddenly shows up to warn Scott of their oncoming battle after his battle with Lucas despite being the fourth evil ex.
Roxy is spelled Roxie in the graphic novel, and she doesn't show up until after Scott's fight with Todd Ingram. The change for the movie is a little bit weird for continuity's sake but nonetheless introduces the audience to one of the most memorable evil exes in the series.