The Evillustrator

"The Evillustrator" is the eighth episode of the first season of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. It premiered on January 24, 2016.

Synopsis
Ladybug must stop the Evillustrator, an akumatized boy who wants revenge against Chloé; Ladybug learns the Evillustrator has a crush on Marinette.

Plot
Marinette runs away from Stormy Weather, trapped inside the Collège Françoise Dupont. She skids to a stop in front of Lady Wifi. The two villains convene on Marinette. Lady Wifi pauses Marinette mid-run and Stormy Weather freezes her in ice. The two villains congratulate each other when another person enters the scene. Whipping out his stylus, he erases Stormy Weather's umbrella and traps the two in a box. Next, he erases the ice holding Marinette, setting her free. She runs into her hero's arms, congratulating Super Nathan. He says it's nothing, and the two express their love for each other.

Ms. Mendeleiev slams her hand down on Nathanaël's desk, interrupting him from drawing in his comic. She sends him to the headmaster's office for not paying attention in class. He trips over a Mylène's backpack on his way out the room and his sketchbook falls open, revealing his comic. Chloé notices the drawing and announces to the class that Nathanaël has drawn himself as a superhero rescuing his crush, Marinette. Ms. Mendeleiev picks Nathanaël up off the floor, holding him by the back of his jacket before releasing him. Nathanaël grabs his sketchbook back, but Ms. Mendeleiev yells at him to get out of her class, causing a page to be ripped from the sketchbook. In his lair, Hawk Moth senses Nathanaël's humiliation and sends an akuma. The akuma lands on Nathanaël's drawing stylus when he drops it in the hallway, transforming him into the super villain, Evillustrator.

Back in class, Ms. Mendeleiev is announcing the groups for an upcoming project and presentation. Alya is grouped with Nino and Adrien, but Marinette gets assigned to work with Chloé and Sabrina. After class, Marinette overhears Chloé telling Sabrina that she doesn't have time to work with them on the project. Sabrina replies that it's fine, that she and Marinette will do all the research and Chloé can present. Marinette protests that that is hardly fair. Learning that this is how Chloé and Sabrina have worked since elementary school, with Sabrina doing all of Chloé's homework, Marinette tells Sabrina that Chloé completely takes advantage of her gentleness, and she does not have to take Chloé's abuse because that is not how a true friend acts. Chloé retorts that Sabrina doesn't have much of a choice because Chloé is her only friend. She then leaves for a hair appointment. Sabrina thanks Marinette profusely for standing up for her. She immediately claims Marinette as her new best friend and drags her to the library to start on the project.

At the library, Chloé is outraged that Sabrina will no longer do her work for her. Sabrina says that Marinette is right, that she is not Chloé's slave. Chloé attempts to buy Sabrina's friendship back by offering to lend her an expensive beret made by Gabriel Agreste, but before Sabrina can change her mind, the Evillustrator appears and draws a bunch of berets, which he uses to attack Chloé. He then draws a giant hairdryer, which chases Chloé around the room.

Adrien, hidden behind a bookshelf, notices this and transforms into Cat Noir. Marinette runs away from the hairdryer, hides behind another bookshelf, and turns into Ladybug.

Meanwhile, the hairdryer corners Chloé. Ladybug swings her yo-yo around the mouth of the hairdryer, swinging up and riding on it. She tells Chloé to leave while trying to steer the hairdryer. Cat Noir appears, making no less than four puns. Ladybug demands he stop and help her, she swinging her yo-yo around a metal pole and knocking the hairdryer to the ground. It knocks over a bookshelf before Cat Noir smashes it with his staff. The Evillustrator sneers when Cat Noir and Ladybug notice him on the second floor of the library. He jumps back just as Ladybug and Cat Noir reach the second floor, drawing a barrier between them. Ladybug and Cat Noir run into the barrier, allowing the Evillustrator enough time to get away.

Later, Ladybug and Cat Noir visit Chloé in her room at Le Grand Paris. They explain that the Evillustrator might be targeting her, to which Chloé replies that she has no idea as to why that would happen since everyone loves her. Ladybug makes a sarcastic comment, which leads Chloé into believing it is a compliment. Chloé tries three times to take a selfie with Ladybug. Each time, Ladybug frowns at the camera and shrugs off Chloé.

Cat Noir, watching Ladybug the entire time, comments that Ladybug has a fan. Ladybug is annoyed by this turn of conversation, spotting the picture that Chloé tore out of Nathanaël's sketchbook earlier. Chloé has defaced it, drawing over Marinette's face. Ladybug turns to leave, much to Cat Noir's protests. He asks her what would happen if the Evillustrator shows up, to which Ladybug responds that he can take care of it. As Ladybug jumps of Chloé's balcony, Chloé calls out to her, telling her to keep in touch.

Ladybug returns home, jumping into her room and detransforming. She throws her bag onto her chaise lounge, Tikki still inside it. Marinette apologizes to Tikki, blaming her anger on Chloé. Tikki tells her to calm down, that getting angry will do nothing. Marinette says that the facade of being nice around Chloé is difficult, and she doesn't understand how Sabrina can do it. She then freaks out, remembering Sabrina and the project. She grabs her phone, scrolling through several missed calls all from Sabrina.

Marinette flops down on her chaise lounge, about to call Sabrina, when Tikki dives into Marinette's bag. Just then, the Evillustrator walks up to Marinette's window, erasing it. He drops down into her room, much to Marinette's surprise. She recalls that he was at the library and asks what he's doing in her room. In response, the Evillustrator says that he wants to see her. Marinette then asks why he attacked Chloé, to which he says that she is nasty and egotistical. Marinette concedes to his observation, but is still confused as to why he is in her room, believing him to attack her.

The Evillustrator stares at her when she says that, reassuring her that he won't attack her. Instead, he compliments her and says that he would never hurt her. Marinette is flattered. The Evillustrator then asks her if she would like to come to his birthday party as it is that day. Marinette tries to turn him down, citing her project with Sabrina and Chloé as what's keeping her busy.

The Evillustrator pleads with her, pulling a card out of his tablet on his right arm and dropping to his knee before her. He hands her the card. On it is a depiction of her, a birthday cake, the Evillustrator's face, and an exclamation mark. Marinette recognizes the exclamation mark as Nathanaël's signature. Marinette connects the dots to Nathanaël being the Evillustrator. When he asks if she likes the card, she says she loves it and changes her mind about not going to his party, but only on the condition that he doesn't harm Chloé; Marinette doesn't like violence.

The Evillustrator agrees immediately, telling her that he'll meet her at Notre-Dame later that evening. Drawing a jetpack on his back, he leaves Marinette's room through her window. Marinette lets out a breath, sitting down on her lounge. Tikki wonders what has gotten into Marinette, prompting Marinette to explain her theory about Nathanaël and the Evillustrator. Marinette decides to capture him as Ladybug, but Tikki points out the flaw in her plan, considering that she is going to be there as Ladybug. Marinette thinks for a moment before mentioning a certain cat they could invite to the party.

Back in Chloé's room, Chloé is complaining over how Sabrina is making her work and Cat Noir is watching over her. She glances over to the superhero, sliding over to him and draping herself across his arm, asking him if he is good at physics. When Cat Noir reveals that physics is his favorite subject, Chloé drags him over to where she was sitting, hands him her homework, and plops down on a lounge, reading a magazine. She makes a bad pun about Cat Noir writing her a good presentation, much to Cat Noir's annoyance.

Cat Noir's stick begins ringing, Ladybug on the other line. Ladybug tells him that he can stop watching Chloé. She sends him a picture of Marinette, explaining that the Evillustrator is in love with her and wants her to go to his birthday party. During this, Chloé steps out onto the balcony, flicking his bell to get him to return to her physics homework. Cat Noir smiles and pushes her back inside, still speaking with Ladybug. Ladybug explains that he will be going on this mission alone, as she has an important, secret mission to complete. Cat Noir reassures her that he can handle it before hanging up. Telling her she's no longer in danger, Cat Noir leaves Chloé in her room while she rants over who is going to complete her part of the physics project.

Marinette opens a back door to her house, an entrance that doesn't lead to the bakery. Outside, she finds Sabrina, which startles her. Sabrina apologizes, explaining that she tried calling. Marinette says that she was about to call Sabrina, causing Sabrina to bounce up and down excitedly. Sabrina explains that she did all of Marinette's geography homework for her, handing a blue binder to Marinette. Marinette tells Sabrina that she didn't need to do that, but Sabrina insists, still holding it out to her. Marinette thanks her, but tells her she can't accept it. Seeing Sabrina frown, Marinette rescinds her statement, taking the homework from Sabrina just this once.

Sabrina then asks if they are meeting tonight for their physics presentation. Marinette tries to explain that she has somewhere else to be and that it's important, but Sabrina becomes angry, comparing Marinette and her actions to Chloé. Marinette tries to explain and calm her down, but Sabrina takes the binder from Marinette's hands and stalks off.

Cat Noir jumps down into Marinette's doorway, surprised by Sabrina's anger. Getting down on one knee, Cat Noir introduces himself, kissing her hand. Marinette pulls her hand away, stating that she knows who he is, but doesn't know why he's there. Cat Noir explains that he's to be watching over her while she's with the Evillustrator. While he says this, he's flexing, and Marinette is mouthing what he's saying with her hands. He then tells her that he's going to need her help; Ladybug is busy.

"You get to be my Ladybug," he says, causing her eyes to widen. Marinette overdramatizes her response, acting as a massive fan, much to Cat Noir's pleasure. Cat Noir tells her that all she has to do is get the stylus away from the Evillustrator. He salutes her before running away and jumping on the fence surrounding the Place de Vosges. Marinette laughs at his departure.

Outside of Notre-Dame on the river Seine, the Evillustrator is drawing a boat and adding lights and a miniature Eiffel Tower to it. Hawk Moth speaks to the Evillustrator after he does this, reminding him of his goal of getting the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses. The Evillustrator tells him to wait, but Hawk Moth takes control of the Evillustrator's drawing hand, making him comply.

Marinette interrupts the Evillustrator, wishing him a happy birthday. He and Marinette walk around the boat. The Evillustrator is surprised that Marinette showed up. Likewise, Marinette is surprised that the Evillustrator went through so much trouble to make everything. He tells her that's not all, jumping up to draw more. However, clouds block out the moon, his main source of light. Annoyed, the Evillustrator quickly draws a false moon, lighting up the deck; he can't draw in the dark.

They are next seen sitting on a bench, with Evillustrator making a song from his tablet. Marinette notices Cat Noir, who was arriving just on time. Trying to distract him, Marinette asks Evillustrator why he would want to use his powers to hurt people, which he explains, "not all people, just Chloe. And I'm never doing that again," stating he's keeping his promise since she did. As they speak, Cat Noir jumps behind them, waiting for the right moment. Marinette then says she's an artist herself, but not as good as Evillustrator, which he denies, saying he's sure she's a wonderful artist. As an attempt to get the stylus away from him, Marinette tells Evillustrator she'll draw him a birthday gift, and he accepts. Upon noticing Cat Noir behind him, he asks for his stylus back, saying he needs to draw something quickly. Marinette ignores his request, snatching the pen from his hand as Cat Noir steps in.

Feeling betrayed after realizing the set up, The Evillustrator yells at Marinette, saying how he thought she liked him, but in reality, she's just like Chloe. Marinette, annoyed, asks why everyone is comparing her to Chloe that night. The Evillustrator kicks Cat Noir's staff, which causes his pencil to fall out of Marinette's hand. He catches it, and draws a box which traps Cat Noir and Marinette inside. Taking back his promise of not harming Chloe, he erases a part of the boat, leaving a huge hole which starts to sink. He jumps off to get his revenge on Chloe. Just in time, Marinette figures out a plan on how to get out, explaining to Cat Noir that all he has to do is expand his staff upward, which makes both of them, and the box, go up. After saving her, Cat Noir runs off, back to Chloe. Marinette says to Tikki "we'll still be in there if I haven't told him how to do his 'job.'" Reminded of that word, she transforms into Ladybug, saying "that boy is going to need help saving Chloe."

Back in Chloe's room, Chloe's seen crying, most likely trying to make up an excuses on why she couldn't do the project. She stops, realizing how dumb it actually sounds, stating "not even a stupid hairdryer can make me look bad." Hearing banging noises on her door, she runs to it, thinking Cat Noir is back. Part of the door gets erased, revealing that it's actually The Evillustrator. Panicking, she runs to hide under the table, with the Evillustrator following. He asks her if she's playing hide-and-seek, thinking it's cute. He asks where she is, erasing the room, starting with the closet. He erases her dresses, then a pair of heels, and then the table she's hiding under. She calls him a monster, only caring that he ruined her clothes. His only response was that she loves to walk all over people, yet doesn't like it done to herself, as he draws a giant heel that chases her around.

Ladybug arrives just in time, destroying the heel before it steps on Chloe. Cat Noir arrives, seeing that Ladybug has returned from her "mission." Asking what it was, Ladybug replies it wouldn't be secret if she told him. The Evillustrator then makes a connection to his comics, stating how it's like the final showdown. He then says if they knew anything at all, it would be that Chloe's the real villain, not him. Chloe protests, by saying everybody loves her.

The fight begins, with The Evillustrator drawing various weapons, like boxer gloves and a saw blade, all which almost hit Chloe, who's hiding in a corner. After destroying a lamp, Ladybug recalls that he can't draw in the dark, which she then explains to Cat Noir, who uses his Cataclysm on the light switch. A second too late, The Evillustrator erases the light switch, which causes Cat Noir to break a hole through the wall. The Evillustrator proceeds to draw a chain on Cat Noir, and then starts to erase the floor he's standing on. Almost about to fall, he holds on tightly to the edge. Hawk Moth reminds his villain of the miraculous, saying Cat Noir has one. Walking up to him, The Evillustrator was about to get the job done, until ladybug stepped in and did her Lucky Charm, which summoned a bouncy ball. Taunting Ladybug, the Evillustrator chuckles, while saying "try to stop me with that, little lady." Ladybug replies with "gladly," as she throws it across the room, breaking all the lights. Afterwards, she wraps her yo-yo around the villains arm, and pulls him. He trips, and drops the stylus, as Ladybug snaps it to de-evilize the akuma, reverting everything back to normal, including Nathanaël.

Back at school, Alya is seen interviewing Chloe, asking her questions on what happened with her the Evillustrator. Chloe explains that all Ladybug and Cat Noir did was make the situation worse "by throwing plastic balls across my room." Alya questions, while Marinette is seen listening in on the conversation, giggling. Sabrina arrives, asking her if she had a good time with whatever was more important than the project. Marinette apologizes, telling Sabrina she can work on it with her in the library that day. Sabrina declines, claiming to already be meeting Chloe, even though she knows she'll be doing it all herself. Marinette then compliments the new beret Sabrina's wearing, which she replies was a gift from Chloe. She runs off to her "BFF."

Marinette closes her locker, only to be startled by Adrien, who was standing behind it. he tells her he heard about her adventure with Cat Noir the night before, asking her if she was scared. She says no, that it was a dream, but then starts to stutter, claiming it to be a nightmare. Adrien then asks if she thought Cat Noir was awesome. She replies that he wasn't as awesome as he is. He takes that as a yes, as he pats her shoulder, walking away as the bell rings. She claims to never wash her jacket again, as Tikki says she needs better control of her emotions.

The endcard is a Ladybug comic cover that Nathanaël created.

Major characters

 * Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug
 * Adrien Agreste/Cat Noir
 * Tikki
 * Plagg
 * Hawk Moth
 * Akuma
 * Nathanaël/The Evillustrator
 * Chloé Bourgeois
 * Sabrina

Minor characters

 * Stormy Weather
 * Alya/Lady Wifi
 * Ms. Mendeleiev
 * Juleka
 * Rose
 * Kim
 * Ivan
 * Alix Kubdel
 * Mylène Haprèle
 * Nino
 * Max

Trivia

 * Stormy Weather and Lady Wifi appear in Nathanaël's fantasy, the first time any akumatized villains have made more than one appearance in the show.
 * While it is not known if the akumatized victim chooses what he or she looks like, Nathanaël's drawing of himself as a superhero becomes his supervillain form.
 * In the end card of the episode, a drawing of Ladybug is on a page of Nathanaël's sketchbook. This image is one of Thomas Astruc's The Mini Menace Ladybug fake covers.
 * The fake cover was modified, with the guns removed, the title changed from "Mini Menace" to "Miraculous," and the corner box changed.
 * This episode is called "Draw Then Erase You" in Korean.
 * It's also called "Le Dessinateur" in French.
 * This episode is Nathanaël's birthday episode.
 * In the French and Korean versions of this episode, Marinette is called "Princess" by Cat Noir. In the English version, he calls her "little lady."
 * The Evillustrator also calls Marinette "little lady.".
 * Plagg has another non-speaking role in this episode and he doesn't appear outside the transformation sequence.
 * Adrien is on the front cover of Chloé's magazine.