About Matthew Patel

Matthew Patel is from the Scott Pilgrim franchise. He is Ramona's first "evil ex" boyfriend, one of seven from The League of Evil Exes, which was a term coined by Gideon Graves (the 7th evil ex). Matthew and Ramona dated for about a week and a half, during which time Ramona manipulated him and used him for his race ("I only dated him because he was the only non-white guy at our school") and his powers to take on the white jocks who allegedly had "a thing" for her.

It's not known much what happened to Matthew directly following this. Just that he eventually moved away and "didn't become truly evil until high school". We do know that he went to college where he majored in Theater.

Despite being called "evil", Matthew never demonstrated this trait. His duel with Scott was supposed to be a gentleman's duel, as Matthew hand wrote Scott a letter explaining the situation and that they would have to fight as per League rules. In most iterations, Matthew loses this fight as he's considered the weakest of the exes.

However, in Takes Off, Matthew seems to win. Despite not getting Ramona after his victory, Matthew took his newfound confidence to the rest of the League, and challenged Gideon for "a change in leadership" (which Gideon initially rejected, and Matthew wasn't even the one who goaded him into a fight; that was Roxie). This fight he also handily won, thus taking over Gideon's entire empire of Man Media.

It's not shown exactly how long this reign lasted. However, Matthew still preferred Broadway, acting, and singing. After shutting down the Scott Pilgrim movie because it was "a character assassination" of him, Matthew took on an offer for Scott Pilgrim: The Musical, where he would finally star as the lead role.

During the first showing of Scott Pilgrim: The Musical, Matthew fought alongside the other exes, Scott, and Ramona to take on Big Villain, who was Scott Pilgrim's alternate universe older self. After the protagonists won, Matthew is seen being praised and applauded for his work on the musical, thus fulfilling his dream of being a (n Off-) Broadway star.

Random Facts

• Matthew Patel has mystical powers, including pyrokinesis, levitation, Divine Arms/Lord Shiva Arms, and demon summoning



• He is 24 years old
• Matthew was "a D+ student" in school
• His Divine Arms are seen wielding a Trishula, which is very commonly associated with Lord Shiva. Due to this, I believe it's implied he's a follower of Shaivism, which is the second largest subsect of Hinduism in India
• In Vs the World, Matthew's actor stands at 5'6"



• He's exceedingly comfortable in his masculinity and doesn't feel the need to hold back emotions or tears. Hc: Because of this, he's also very communicative, and prefers to talk things through (after calming down, if need be).



• It's not confirmed as far as I know, but Matthew's voice actor, Satya Bhabha (his actor in the movie, too), probably did not provide the singing for Matthew in Takes Off. That was probably Manu Narayan, an Indian Broadway actor. Reasons:

  Each time Matthew sang (in episode 6 when he sang the cover of “Agony” from Into the Woods, and in episode 8 when he sang for Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Musical), Manu Narayan is credited as “singer”. He is not listed unless Matthew sang, and Satya was never credited specifically for the singing.

  Satya did, however, sing as Matthew in Vs The World for the song “Slick”. Compare the two singing voices, they are VERY different.

  If you search “Manu Narayan Broadway” on YouTube, you can find videos of him singing, and he sounds JUST like Matthew.

Headcanons

• While some in the community believe he was in the military due to his Eisenhower WWII jacket, it's much more likely in my opinion that he saw it at an antique shop or an Army Surplus store and thought it was cool

  Click for mini essay

  Matthew Patel Thrifted His Eisenhower Jacket (and was not in the military)

  So there’s a very common interpretation of Matthew’s character, where he was in the military and that’s how he got his jacket with the insignias on it. The insignia on his right arm is generally regarded as too abstract to glean any information from it, and is possibly a patch that has nothing to do with the military that Matthew him had sewn on, or something Bryan Lee O’Malley just made up. The chevrons on the left arm, however, indicate the rank of corporal.This is a military rank that requires around 2.5 to 3 years of active service to achieve, as well as the recruit needing to display leadership qualities.

  Once you enlist in the military, you are expected to commit to 8 full years of service, unless discharged. A discharge early would typically land him a General Discharge at best, meaning no veteran benefits, including a GI Bill to help him enroll in college to do his theater major.

  While I believe it is possible, I also believe it’s a hard pill to swallow, and one that crumbles under scrutiny.

  First of all, let’s look at Matthew’s character. He does not scream disciplined corporal of the army, a man who received many years of strict routine and rigorous training. He is a theatrical, dramatic man with a flair for the arts and an enormous, hard-to-contain persona. Just imagine this man being barked at by military men and forced to comply with stringent rules and regulations. Yeah right.

  I’m far more likely to believe that he walked into a thrift/antique/Army Surplus store, saw that Eisenhower jacket, thought “fuck yes”, and bought it, than to believe he enlisted, went through a ton of training for nearly 3 years, then just dropped out and got a General Discharge for it. Both of these scenarios do, however, fit the whole “this guy is a loser” narrative that the franchise tries to push.

  Military gear is fairly common garb in alternative fashion. Particularly among punks and emos, military garb is seen as an ironic statement, and goths are known to wear military gear (combat boots, anyone?). Take a single look at Matthew and you know he’s emo, unquestionably. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Matthew purposefully picked out this jacket due to the irony of wearing it as a theater/arts major, or to make an ironic statement (which imo is very in-character for him).

  For those who don’t know, military garb sold secondhand online and in stores may come with insignias still attached. There are no laws in the United States that indicate they must be removed upon selling. Furthermore, it is perfectly legal to wear military gear with insignias, so long as the person is not attempting to impersonate a military official. Matthew can wear this jacket for the aesthetic with no repercussions.

  Let’s talk about what his physique would require in order to be a corporal (as indicated by the chevrons). Corporals not only need to go through basic training that all privates go through, but also sets of rigorous training in order to rise through the ranks. This should give Matthew some serious fighting ability. But let’s face it: Matthew is portrayed consistently as very weak.

  Not only does he get his ass kicked by Scott in the graphic novel and movie, but in Takes Off he’s explicitly called weak and pathetic by the other characters. Scott Pilgrim is a sedentary slacker playing bass in a shitty band. Yet he bests Matthew with ease, even with Matthew’s mystical powers. One would think that Matthew Patel, a trained military official, would be able to smoke Scott the Civilian. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t even technically win in Takes Off, he just believes that he did.

  I also can’t see people actually believing Matthew is a loser, and ruthlessly mocking him for being one, if Matthew was indeed Honorably Discharged somehow. It makes far more sense to me that he’s just wearing this Eisenhower jacket to play into a rough and tumble persona for the fight with Scott (which he planned in advance).

  I really cannot see any reason Matthew would want to enlist in the military. It seems so far out of left field for his character. Even ignoring the one-note archetypes characters in Scott Pilgrim typically embody (in Matthew’s case: loser emo with a Bollywood theme), Matthew doesn’t seem to have any interest in military things outside of the aesthetic. His fighting in Takes Off is on-par (or lesser) compared to other characters. He doesn’t speak in any military lingo or seem particularly disciplined.

  He’s a theater kid who was probably in the drama club in high school, went to community college (possibly after a year or two of floundering at dead-end jobs), completed his general education (barely), and went on to major in theater. He’s just an alt fashion kind of guy who likes to play into roles/characters, and “tough military man about to kick some ass” seems like a good first impression to someone like Matthew, who is all about the flair and dramatics.

  In conclusion, Matthew Patel 100% thrifted his Eisenhower jacket and used it to play into a character, or to wear as an alt aesthetic because he thought it looked cool.

  Click to close

• Matthew's birthday as December 13th (the same as Satya), making him a Sagittarius
• Matthew's mbti is ENFP
• Matthew's pyrokinesis includes firebreathing



• Matthew is a 3rd generation immigrant. His grandparents on both sides were the first to immigrate to America. His mother and father wanted him to fit in and so gave him a "white name". Because of this, Matthew spent most of his childhood distant from his heritage, only getting more into it in his late teens
• Matthew's main love language is touch. He's also partial to giving words of affirmation. However, he enjoys pretty much all of them

Merch

In-progress

Music