Adrien Agreste

"I just wanted you to know that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat, I swear. I've never been to school before. I've never had friends. It's all sort of... new to me."

- Adrien

Adrien Agreste is one of the main protagonists of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. He is a student in Miss Bustier's class at Collège Françoise Dupont in Paris, France. He is also a fashion model for his father's brand. With the Cat Miraculous, when it is inhabited by Plagg, Adrien transforms into into the superhero Cat Noir ("Chat Noir" in the French version), gaining the power of bad luck and destruction.

Appearance
Adrien is about half a head taller than Marinette. He has brushed-back blond hair and light green eyes. His skin tone is fair with a rosy tint, especially around his cheeks, nose, and the tips of his ears.

He wears a white over-shirt with an upturned collar and sleeves rolled up above his elbow. Underneath, he wears a black shirt with five horizontal stripes around the chest which are colored, from top to bottom, yellow, olive green, bright green, dark green, and periwinkle. On the ring finger of his right hand, he wears a silver-colored ring that he uses to transform into Cat Noir. Additionally, he wears blue jeans and orange sneakers with white laces and a logo of a black butterfly in a circle on the sides.

As Cat Noir, he wears a textured black skin-tight catsuit with metal details and a golden bell on his chest. The bell is connected to a zipper on the front of his costume. He has a long belt that wraps around his waist and hangs out from the back like a tail. He wears matching gloves that have claws on the fingertips, and boots with a hidden wedge and silver toes. He wears black cat ears and a black mask covering around his eyes. His eyes are cat-like with green sclerae, dark green iris, and oblong pupils. His hair becomes longer and untamed, covering his normal ears. His ring turns black and gains a bright green paw print in the face of the ring.

Personality
Adrien is charismatic, shy, a bit reserved, and slightly innocent—partially due to his unfamiliarity to much of the world beyond his father's reach. While liking to have fun, he is more serious, obedient, and less lively due to his strict upbringing. If something makes him sad, he tries to downplay his feelings on it, like his relationship with his father. He thinks reasonably, and he will express annoyance and frustration when someone is being difficult or something is going wrong. Though not very openly emotional or affectionate to most people, he is friendly and encouraging. He has an easier time letting his feelings show to those who he's close to.

As Cat Noir, Adrien has the freedom to act however he wants outside of his normal life, mainly due to not having to represent his father's company, and lets his wilder side come out, being cocky and outgoing. More optimistic and open, Cat Noir says whatever comes to his mind and makes a lot of jokes and puns, many being cat-related. In his attempts to get Ladybug's attention, along with other people, he brags and boasts about himself in a comedic way. Much of Cat Noir's exaggerated personality, especially his flirting with Ladybug, stems from entertainment such as anime, television, and movies due to his lack of experience with people his age beyond Chloé. His change to his superhero status doesn't diminish his kindness and concern for others, though, among a lot of his other personality traits like irritation proneness and loyalty. While more prone to goofing off, Cat Noir gets serious when needed, like when fighting an akumatized villain. It's rare for him to reveal his vulnerable, Adrien-like side, but it does come through at times, such as quietly commenting that not all parents are loving in "The Bubbler" and trying in vain to tell Ladybug about his love for her before their transformations wear off in "Dark Cupid". Determined to help others and save the day, Cat Noir really cherishes being uninhibited by his civilian life as a superhero.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug
Adrien and Marinette first meet in "Ladybug and Cat Noir (Origins - Part 1)" as their superhero alter-egos. Cat Noir is very impressed by her wits and skill in combat, and he's even more pleasantly surprised the next episode, when she gives a speech to the whole of Paris after defeating Hawk Moth's head made of akumas and when she manages to defeat Stoneheart, save Mylène from falling and capture the akuma all at once.

In "Stoneheart" he also meets Marinette in her civilian form at school, but he doesn't make a good first impression: Marinette thinks he was trying to stick a chewing gum on her seat, when in reality he was trying to detach it after Chloé stuck it. Marinette is deeply offended, but they make up the next day at the end of the episode, when Adrien explains the truth and offers his umbrella to her while it was raining. In response to Plagg teasing him that he has a crush on her, Adrien responds that she's "just a friend," which pleases him.

Adrien likes Marinette as a friend, but he doesn't seem to be aware of her feelings for him, nor does he have any romantic feelings for her, like trying to set her up with Nino in "Animan" without a second thought. He thinks she is a fantastic artist, occasionally shows signs of affection towards her. If she needs help or encouragement, he gives it to her, and despite noticing how awkward she acts around him sometimes, he can tell that she is a good person. As Cat Noir, he teams up with Marinette to stop the Evillustrator in the episode of the same name, and he promises to protect her. Afterwards, as Adrien, he asks her what she thinks of Cat Noir, and he assumes from her jumbled response (which is her trying to say he, Adrien, is cooler) that she thinks he is cool, to his satisfaction. In later episodes, such as "Kung Food" and "Gamer", they have more interactions, and Adrien treats her like a good friend, being very supportive and friendly to her.

However, he has a huge crush on Ladybug. He constantly flirts with her (as Cat Noir) and refers to her by a number of pet names, including "My Lady," "Bugaboo," and "LB." He often puts her on the spot with his romantic advances, but he does respect her wishes and never takes it too far. To his constant exasperation, she doesn't seem to reciprocate his feelings or thinks that he's just faking them. Occasionally, he loses his bravado around her, like during Valentines' Day after defeating Dark Cupid in the episode of the same name. He longs to know who she is behind the mask, but he respects her desire to keep it secret.

As a team, they work well together, although Cat Noir sometimes feels like he has to do more of the dirty work because he cannot purify akumas. Despite his crush on her, he doesn't agree with everything she says and questions her if she becomes irrational. Sometimes they have disagreements, but they know how to work them out and defeat any villain. Cat Noir is fully willing to risk his life to protect her, having shielded her from lethal attacks. He is very dedicated to Ladybug and hopes she will one day return his affections.

Plagg
Plagg helps Adrien transform into Cat Noir. Unlike Tikki, Plagg doesn't help Adrien much or usually do what he wants, and Adrien sometimes has to bribe him with a piece of Camembert cheese just to lure him out and help him transform. Adrien is often exasperated with Plagg's behavior and seems doubtful of Plagg's honesty, not believing him when Plagg says he didn't eat his phone. Even though he is often frustrated with Plagg, Adrien confides in him and appreciates what support he gets from him. However, Plagg does show that he cares for Adrien, like when he gives him cheese as a present for his birthday in "The Bubbler" (even though Adrien dislikes the smell of it and thus Plagg eats it himself) or when he comforts Adrien in "Rogercop" because he's sad that his father wouldn't come to school.

Hawk Moth
Adrien is fully aware that Hawk Moth is the culprit for the akumas and supervillains. He always works hard to stop him, not wanting him to win by taking the Miraculouses.

In "Stoneheart (Origins - Part 2)", Cat Noir and Ladybug are introduced to Hawk Moth when akumas form a large version of Hawk Moth's head while the two heroes are fighting Stoneheart at the Eiffel Tower.

Gabriel Agreste
While loving his father and doing what he can to please him, like modelling for him, Adrien is disappointed in how little time he spends with him or how little love and attention he gives to him. Gabriel's aloofness and negligence hurts Adrien deeply, like when Gabriel doesn't attend his class's parent show and tell. He is very pleased whenever Gabriel does something for him, being grateful for the scarf from Gabriel (albeit actually being from Marinette) that he got for his birthday. He doesn't have a good relationship with his father, but as his response to the Bubbler's complaint about parents, he knows not all parents are like Gabriel. Adrien acknowledges in "Adrien's Double Life" that his father changed ever since his mother disappeared and tries to be there for him, even if it's difficult with his aloof behavior. Sometimes, he disobeys his father's orders, like in "The Puppeteer" when he gets out to go to the cinema without the Gorilla knowing.

Nathalie Sancoeur
Nathalie takes care of Adrien's needs, but her mostly serious nature towards him, not unlike his father, doesn't help him connect with her on any personal level. He openly acknowledges and appreciates her kindness and assistance but her professional tone when she addresses him bars Adrien from confiding in her.

Nino Lahiffe
Adrien meets Nino in "Stoneheart", and after kindly introducing himself, Adrien is surprised that his new acquaintance is not pleased with him being friends with Chloé. After watching Adrien try to take gum off of Marinette's chair and taking the blame for Chloé, Nino opens up to him, and he offers to be Adrien's new friend. Adrien is happy about it, and the next day, he listens to Nino's advice to explain himself to and befriend Marinette.

Nino is Adrien's best friend. Adrien appreciates Nino's compassion and caring attitude. When Gabriel denies Nino's request for Adrien to have a birthday party, Adrien apologizes to Nino about his father. While shocked when he discovers Nino has become a supervillain, the Bubbler, Adrien is thankful for Nino wanting to make him happy, and he doesn't hold anything against him after he is changed back to normal. In the webisode "Adrien's Double Life", Adrien reveals that he talks with Nino about everything except his double life as Cat Noir, as he cannot reveal his secret identity to anyone.

Chloé Bourgeois
Adrien's only friend before attending collège was Chloé, and he has always been aware that she isn't perfect. But he doesn't realize the extent of her cruelty until he sees her put a wad of gum on Marinette's chair to teach her "respect" in "Stoneheart (Origins - Part 2)". Despite knowing it was her, Adrien doesn't reveal it to Marinette, although being mistaken for the culprit by Marinette until he explains it her the next day.

Although having known Chloé since they were little kids, Adrien still recognizes her as being rude toward others and doesn't seem very interested in her affection towards him. When he learns from Nino that Alya thinks Chloé is Ladybug, Adrien is shocked, becoming relieved after Ladybug appears while he is spying on Chloé, who is cosplaying as Ladybug. He shows much more patience with her than Marinette does, still guarding her in "The Evillustrator" after Ladybug angrily leaves. He is one of the very few people who is on friendly terms with her, despite her spoiled attitude, although he has no problem calling her out on her rude treatment on other people. When fighting against Chloé as Antibug, he does not use his full strength on her because he doesn't want to hurt her.

Alya Césaire
Adrien seems to trust Alya's judgement; an example of this is when he suspected Chloé was Ladybug since Alya believed it. He also describes her as a "brave chick" to Ladybug when Alya is kidnapped by the titular character in "The Pharaoh". Though there is not much interaction between them, Adrien and Alya are friendly to one another when an encounter arises.

Abilities
Adrien, as a model, knows how to pose and express for his photo shoots. He takes basketball, fencing, piano, and Chinese lessons. Thus, he is able to speak Chinese fluently and communicate with Wang Cheng. He is adept at fencing, as well, being able to fight on equal grounds with his akumatized fencing teacher and fend off his knights effortlessly when transformed. Other than fencing, he also does karate, as revealed in "Simon Says", which enables him to fight hand to hand combat as well. He is also quite good at video games, being able to beat Max, and achieve one of the two highest scores in the entire school at playing Ultimate Mecha Strike III. As Cat Noir, he has enhanced skills, such as speed, agility, and strength. He is almost invulnerable, like when he is able to take punishment from Guitar Villain's Awesome Solo, as well as being slammed through a concrete wall, against cars, and on pavement without being injured or feeling great amounts of pain. Like actual cats, he also has enhanced senses, like hearing, smell, and night vision. He is also extremely stealthy, being able to move around and fight without causing his bell to ring. He uses his staff efficiently, knowing how to spin it, wield it like a sword, and take advantage of its duplication and length-changing features. To travel long distances, he uses his staff and its variety in length to vault himself. He can also throw his staff with great skill and precision, before it gets deflected back to him. His special power, Cataclysm, damages anything that he touches with his ring hand, although it drains his power and reverts him back to Adrien shortly afterwards.

Trivia

 * The character of Adrien was created around 2012.
 * The French name "Adrien" comes from the Roman cognomen "Hadrianus", which means "from Hadria". In the days of the Roman Empire, Hadria was a town in northern Italy and the namesake of the Adriatic Sea. The Adriatic Sea is known for the dark-colored sand on its beaches, and for this reason, the same name is also commonly translated as "dark one".
 * His last name, "Agreste", means "rural" in French. It is also the French name for the Hipparchia semele, the grayling butterfly.
 * The name Chat Noir is literally French for Black Cat. This is due to the series' French origins. However, some sources have called Cat Noir "Black Cat" instead. In the English dubbed version, his name is Cat Noir.
 * In the Korean version, Adrien's superhero name is Black Cat.
 * In the Russian version, Adrien's superhero name is Super Cat.
 * The earliest known appearance of Cat Noir was on the fake cover of Issue #12 of The Mini Menace Ladybug.
 * Fans originally called him Félix, after a famous cat character. For some time, this name appeared on the original French version of Zagtoon's official website, but later disappeared with newer, equally reliable sources calling him Adrien.
 * It was later revealed that the Ladybug PV version had in fact been called Félix, and Félix and Adrien are not the same character. Adrien was made around 2012 to replace Félix. Tumblr nyjiatQP951qkj6s6o3 1280.png
 * Adrien's appearance changed immensely from Félix's design (seen in the Ladybug PV) to his own design. Félix's design included more formal clothing with black and gray colors, desaturated green eyes, and a tidier hairstyle. As Cat Noir, Félix wears higher boots and doesn't have a staff for a weapon.
 * Their personalities are also different. Félix is less social, not openly friendly, and not kind to Marinette.
 * Unlike Félix, Adrien's ring can come off anytime. This is seen in "Lady Wifi" when he, as Cat Noir, gets locked into a freezer and the impact causes his ring to fall off his finger, which makes him revert back to normal.
 * Because Félix was the version of Cat Noir when the Ladybug PV was made, Adrien has never been seen in 2D form, but he will soon, due to the Miraculous Ladybug OVA being announced and Adrien confirmed to still be Cat Noir instead of Félix.
 * His responsibilities as a superhero not only include fighting akumatized villains, but also patrolling and many other things.
 * He is allergic to feathers, as revealed in "Mr. Pigeon".
 * In the French version of "Copycat", Cat Noir calls Ladybug "Buginette," while in the English version, he calls her "Bugaboo."
 * In French, adding "-nette" to the end of a word is a way of showing affection.
 * Adrien watches anime.
 * According to Gabriel Agreste's voice actor, Adrien is not allowed to play Pokémon Go.
 * Adrien doesn't appear to have as many issues juggling his normal life with his superhero work as Marinette does.
 * However, he will still struggle to manage his double life on occasion, as seen in "Princess Fragrance" when he misses his chemistry class.
 * He is partially responsible for making Théo vulnerable enough to be akumatized.
 * He correctly suspects he might know Ladybug in normal life without knowing it, as he mentions in "The Pharaoh", "Lady Wifi", and "Ladybug as seen by Adrien".
 * As stated in "Dark Cupid", he hates signing autographs.
 * According to Thomas Astruc in a joking matter, Cat Noir's suit is made of "boyfriend material".
 * The suit is not made of leather but it is the closest material.
 * The ears are made of the same material as the rest of the suit.
 * The bell functions as a zipper and was added "because it looks cute."
 * Ladybug kisses him in "Dark Cupid", but he doesn't remember it due to him being under the effect of Dark Cupid's arrows at the time.
 * Adrien's cat ears and tail are clearly fake. However, Adrien can control them, usually according to his mood.
 * In "The Pharaoh", when Adrien doesn't want to battle all the mummies while Ladybug takes all the glory, his tail visibly moves. He also moves his tail in some more subtle ways as seen in various episodes when his tail swings above the ground instead of getting dragged behind him.
 * In "Dark Cupid", when Cat Noir isn't able to confess to Ladybug because their transformations are about to run out, his ears move down.
 * In "Animan", his cat ears move when he hears Animan coming.
 * According to Gabriel, he's a lot like his mother, physically and in terms of personality.
 * He's been turned evil three times so far, having fallen under the influence of Dark Cupid's hate arrows, ending up under the control of the Puppeteer and being affected by Princess Fragrance's perfume.

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