The Dark Owl

""Did you really think we'd give you our Miraculous? We're superheroes! We are.. Ladybug.." "..and Cat Noir!""
 * previous = Dark Owl|next = Gigantitan}}

- Ladybug and Cat Noir

"" (also known as "The Dark Owl" in the UK and in other countries) is an upcoming episode of the second season of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. It first premiered worldwide in Spain on December 5, 2017.

Synopsis
Mr. Damocles gets akumatized into Dark Owl. Armed with high-tech gadgets, he wants to get revenge on Ladybug and Cat Noir, who've inadvertently humiliated him.

Plot
At the end of the school day, Mr. Damocles hurriedly rushes Marinette, Alya, Nino and Adrien out of the school, before closing the doors behind them. Mr. Damocles then tip-toes into his office, making sure nobody is watching him, and boots up his computer program, Albert. He attempts to get Albert to open up the secret compartment behind his painting; however, after several failed attempts, Damocles is forced to open it manually, revealing several framed comics, a figurine, a grappling hook, a boomerang and a custom-made Knightowl costume. Donning the (somewhat ill-fitting) suit, Damocles takes up the identity of the Owl and heads out to patrol Paris.

Outside, Damocles attempts to help a mother and son rescue a cat from a tree, although all his attempts to do so fail, until Cat Noir and Ladybug arrive to save him and the cat from falling. Ladybug and Cat Noir mention that this is the fifth time they've had to save Owl from himself, and advise him to not attempt to be a superhero and endanger himself. TVi reporters arrive on the scene and Clara Contard interviews the Owl. The Owl claims that he will try to do better next time, being oblivious to Ladybug and Cat Noir's real point, before running off, not realizing that the camera was following him the entire time, leaving Ladybug and Cat Noir to deal with the press. Both Ladybug and Cat Noir advise the children of Paris to not act like the Owl and try to be superheroes like him, as it is dangerous. At the end of her broadcast, Nadja Chamack asks the question of who the Owl's real identity is.

That evening, Ladybug and Cat Noir discuss Mr. Damocles' superhero antics on a rooftop and decide to create a plan to make him feel like a real hero for at least one day, so that his dream will be fulfilled and he'll stop acting like a superhero. Through the night, Marinette creates fake copies of her and Cat Noir's Miraculouses, and a fake supervillain costume. The next day, after school ends and Damocles yet again takes up his Owl persona, Ladybug and Cat Noir convince Alya to pretend to be a villain named "Cardboard Girl" who is holding them hostage. Alya calls Damocles and "reveals" that she had captured Ladybug and Cat Noir, and that he is the only one who can save them. At the park, Owl arrives as Cardboard Girl is taking Ladybug and Cat Noir's fake Miraculouses. Owl fires his grappling hook at Cardboard Girl, only for it to end up snagging onto a moving garbage truck, which drags him into a fence. Ladybug apologizes for what happened and slips up by revealing Owl's identity of Mr. Damocles while people are snapping pictures of him. Owl runs off crying, with Ladybug, Cat Noir and Alya left hoping that nobody has heard about what has happened.

Back in his office, Mr. Damocles is on the internet, where the news has revealed his identity to Paris and Alec Cataldi is mocking him. Meanwhile, Hawk Moth senses Mr. Damocles' sadness and sends an akuma after him. The akuma enters Damocles' computer, and Hawk Moth offers Damocles real powers and weapons in exchange for Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses. Damocles accepts Hawk Moth's offer and is transformed into Dark Owl.

Later that evening, Marinette is sewing in her room while Tikki watches Laura Marano's music video on her computer. Dark Owl then hijacks the television broadcasts throughout Paris, to the disbelief and horror of Marinette and Tikki, as well as Adrien and Plagg. Dark Owl announces that he has kidnapped a multitude of zoo animals, locked them in a bus dangling off the Eiffel Tower, and, with the press of a button, can drop them all on a helpless kitten; and if anyone tries to save them, liquid nitrogen bombs will freeze and shatter the tower's structure, destroying them anyway. Dark Owl then demands that Ladybug and Cat Noir hand over their Miraculouses to him, also telling them to follow his Owl-Signal to find him before ending the transmission. Marinette and Adrien then immediately transform into their respective superhero identities. At the same time, Dark Owl gets Albert to activate the Owl-Signal.

Ladybug and Cat Noir meet on a rooftop, coming up with the plan of letting Cat Noir distract Dark Owl while Ladybug sneaks up on him from behind. At the Parc des Princes, Cat Noir, as per the plan, distracts Dark Owl by talking while Ladybug scouts the villain from the back, guessing that the akuma must be in one of his weapons on his belt. Ladybug attacks Dark Owl and manages to knock his detonator to Cat Noir, only to be flung away onto her partner by Dark Owl's hook line. Dark Owl tells the heroes that they have one last chance to surrender their Miraculouses, but they still refuse. Dark Owl ensnares the two using his grappling hook and they are forced to roll away as Dark Owl attempts to pounce on them. Cat Noir uses his Cataclysm on the ropes to escape and Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm soon afterwards, receiving a fountain pen. Ladybug and Cat Noir incapacitate Dark Owl long enough for them to get a hold of the detonator on top of a shipping crate, only to find that the countdown will not stop. Dark Owl then has Albert open a trapdoor on the crate, dropping the two inside the crate and trapping them there; and he reveals that the animals, bus and bombs were nothing but holograms.

At that moment, the crate begins to fill up with whipped cream, which Dark Owl claims will drown the two heroes if they refuse to give up their Miraculouses. Using her Lucky Vision, Ladybug spots the camera lens at the top of the crate, Cat Noir's ring, and the pen. She then squirts the pen ink over the lens so that Dark Owl can't watch them, although the latter is unfazed by this. Cat Noir is unable to break down the crate's walls, and deems their situation hopeless; however, Ladybug instead decides to give up and hand over their Miraculouses, telling Cat Noir that they must close their eyes when they detransform.

Both Tikki and Plagg see each other’s Miraculous wielder, which shocks Plagg, but they don’t say anything. Marinette is about to take Adrien’s ring but, remembering she still has the fake Miraculous she had made, gives those to Dark Owl, who in turn sends them to Hawk Moth. Feeling triumphant for a moment, Hawk Moth discovers the Miraculouses are fake; but by then both kwamis have been able to recharge and the two heroes once again transform, and Cat Noir destroys the crate. Then, Dark Owl fires his boomerangs at them while the heroes are still trying to figure out where the akuma is. Telling Cat Noir to cover her, Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm and receives a Knightowl comic book. Upon reading it, she figures out that as the "real" Knightowl has a partner, so must Dark Owl. Just as Cat Noir manages to restrain him, she realizes the akuma is back at the school and goes to Principal Damocles’ office to try to destroy the akumatized computer, but Dark Owl gets there too. After using her Lucky Vision she kicks the rolled up comic book to a figurine, but the villain is able to remove one of her earrings, almost detransforming Ladybug. Then the falling figurine triggers a chain reaction that knocks over the monitor, releasing the akuma, and Ladybug retrieves her earring and purifies the akuma. Hawk Moth is once again defeated but vows to get revenge. Afterwards, Ladybug and Cat Noir see that Mr. Damocles has become a superhero on a smaller scale by doing good deeds, and has genuinely earned people's admiration.

Now that Cat Noir and Ladybug have more free time, Cat Noir asks her if she'll go to the movies with him. She politely turns down his offer, saying that she made a promise to hang out with someone else and that he'll see her soon, as she swings away, leaving Cat Noir smiling wistfully. At Alya's house, Marinette is playing a video game with Alya. As Alya explains her latest adventure with Ladybug and Cat Noir, Marinette wins the game. Startled, Alya calls it unfair because she wasn't looking, and tickles Marinette, leaving the two laughing. Tikki quietly laughs before the end card appears.

Major characters

 * Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug
 * Adrien Agreste/Cat Noir
 * Hawk Moth
 * Tikki
 * Plagg
 * Akuma
 * Mr. Damocles/Dark Owl

Minor characters

 * Alya Césaire
 * Nino Lahiffe
 * Mrs. Michelle
 * Mrs. Michelle's son
 * Whiskers
 * Nadja Chamack
 * Clara Contard
 * Alec Cataldi
 * Fire captain
 * Majestia (pictured)
 * Knightowl (pictured)
 * Sparrow (pictured)
 * Laura Marano (TV only)
 * Alix Kubdel
 * Max Kanté
 * Lê Chiến Kim
 * Juleka Couffaine (background)
 * Rose Lavillant (background)
 * Nathaniel Kurtzberg (pictured)
 * Chloé Bourgeois (pictured)
 * Sabrina Raincomprix (pictured)
 * Mylène Haprèle (pictured)
 * Ivan Bruel (pictured)
 * Albert
 * Civilians

Trivia

 * In the French version, the episode is called "Le Hibou Noir", which literally translates to "The Black Owl."
 * This episode was first released in Spain.
 * Jun Violet, co-director for the episode, makes a cameo in it as the face of the akumatized version of Albert, Mr. Damocles' computer program assistant.
 * This episode was first revealed in a promotional poster for Season 2 released by TFOU on October 16, 2017.
 * It was first announced it would be released on November 26, 2017, in France, but it was later confirmed to not be planned for that date anymore, "Gigantitan" airing instead.
 * Nearly the entire episode is a homage to the 1960's Batman series. Similarly, Dark Owl’s ruse is similar to the Joker’s plan in The Dark Knight.
 * The Justice Comics #27 cover seen behind Mr. Damocles' secret panel is a reworking of Detective Comics #27, in which Batman first appeared; and the cover of the Lucky Charm comic that Ladybug obtains, Knight Owl #1, is a reworking of Batman #1.
 * Plagg and Tikki interact together onscreen for the first time.
 * Tikki and Plagg find out who is the other's Miraculous holder.
 * Plagg recharges after eating a macaron instead of his regular Camembert.
 * This is second episode where Tikki and Plagg don't have any speaking roles.
 * This episode shows more things Ladybug’s yo-yo and Cat Noir’s baton are capable of doing and containing, like the yo-yo having a camera and both having communication earpiece sets.
 * Ladybug and Cat Noir detransform in front of each other for the first time, although they keep their eyes closed while doing so to avoid discovering each other’s identities.
 * Adrien removes his Miraculous willingly with the intent of giving it away, yet Plagg does not disappear. This could be because Adrien gave up the Miraculous reluctantly but did not want to lose it.
 * This episode marks the first instance where an akumatized villain manages to take a Miraculous, although it was only one of Ladybug's earrings.
 * The instance confirms that Ladybug needs both earrings to maintain her transformation.
 * While Ladybug's suit slowly disappears, her yo-yo remains.
 * The animation sequence for Cataclysm is not seen, despite the ability being used twice.
 * Laura Marano cameos by appearing in a music video on Marinette's computer.
 * This episode shows that an akumatized villain does not need to be in constant possession of the akumatized item to retain his or her powers.
 * The picture Nadja Chamack shows of Mr. Damocles is Miss Bustier's class photo that was taken in "Reflekta".
 * Hawk Moth's desire is hinted at, as he wishes to change a certain happening from the past.
 * Alya's bedroom debuts in this episode.
 * Within her room, there are action figures of Ladybug and Cat Noir that are holding hands.

Errors

 * The fake Cat and Ladybug Miraculouses switch places in Hawk Moth's hand.
 * The whipped cream was rising at a rate that would've at least reached their shoulders or above by the time it stopped and drained; however, it remained at only their waists the whole time.
 * When Dark Owl releases Ladybug and jumps to catch Albert, Ladybug is shown with her full suit and mask before retrieving her earring.
 * Alya's bangs are miscolored throughout the episode.
 * When Mr. Damocles picks up his phone, his arm and the phone don’t have any shadow reflection.
 * When he rolls on his table, his body doesn’t have any shadow reflection either.
 * The detonator that Ladybug is holding disappears for a few shots, but then reappears when she and Cat Noir are in the crate.

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