Talk:Hawk Moth/@comment-27514482-20170407153627/@comment-25607939-20170409004719

It is never stated that Hawk Moth could have his Hawk Moth form turned off while having a villain active. Vanisher (Sabrina) is implied to have been akumatized and terrorizing Chloe for at least 24 hours, and if Marinette and Adrien could only run around for a few hours as Ladybug and Chat Noir before powering down, I doubt Hawk Moth could stay as Hawk Moth for days at a time no matter how much experience he could have with his powers.

Odds are he changed into his civilian identity (assuming that he is Gabriel) as Jackaday/Simon Says came after him as an elaborate means of keeping his identity a secret. The clips we see Hawk Moth in that episode happen coincidentally around the time Gabriel would have been alone, so Hawk Moth changed into his Hawk Moth outfit as a means of communicating with the villain during those intervals, kind of like how a spy undercover would want to be alone when he sends messages to his allies tailing him. It would not surprise me if a character shows up in season two as someone investigating Hawk Moth and his activities in the same way Alya is chasing after Ladybug.