Cat Noir

Cat Noir or Chat Noir is the superhero alter-ego of Adrien Agreste.

## Personality

As Cat Noir, Adrien has the freedom to act however he desires outside of his normal life, letting his wilder side come out.  More optimistic and open, he says whatever comes to his mind and has a habit of cracking cat-related jokes and puns. As he said in "Plagg", being Cat Noir is the only time Adrien can be himself. Much of his exaggerated personality, especially his flirtatious behavior with Ladybug, stems from entertainment such as anime, television, and movies due to his lack of experience with people his age beyond Chloé. According to Plagg, Adrien often takes after him and is one of his most irresponsible owners in 5000 years, though the latter might have exaggerated since he also considered him the best "Cat Noir". It is rare for Cat Noir to reveal his vulnerable side, but it does come through at times. Examples of this are when he quietly comments that not all parents are loving, tries in vain to tell Ladybug about his love for her before their transformations wore off, and opens up to Marinette about his struggles in the love department.

Since he became Cat Noir, like Marinette, Adrien has grown in confidence and developed characteristically. This is seen when he lashed out at his father and courageously asked Nathalie if he could bring his friends with him to the wax museum. In his attempts to get Ladybug's attention, as well as interacting with certain other people, he acts cocky and brags, liking to boast about himself in a comedic way. In "Cat Noir as seen by Marinette", he was described by Ladybug in the same way. His perspective of people slowly begins to change at first through his fights as Cat Noir; Adrien natively believed that people are only dangerous when akumatized, but in "Oni-Chan" through Lila, he learned that people could become dangerous even without superpowers. Horrified that her hatred of Ladybug is so deep, she was willing to leave the heroine and, by extension, everyone else in great danger just to have her revenge.

However, Cat Noir very occasionally shows insecurity when comparing his abilities to Ladybug or their new partners. He displayed his biggest sense of insecurity when he failed to save those he cares about, leading to the fear of losing them—seen in "Desperada", when he briefly expressed intense frustration and sadness to Ladybug about being unable to do so and not knowing what to do. His romantic feelings towards her stemmed from this situation and distracted him from fighting the villain at hand, from being observable in other fights as well. It often sparks his instincts to protect Ladybug before himself, as well. While during the "New York special", he displayed another one when it came to his powers overtime as Cat Noir, he grew aware of the destructive capabilities of them as he uses it on objects, a means of self-defense or protection and against others by only as a last resort showing his discipline, restraint and caring side. As well as learning with great power comes great responsibility, such as when he accidentally used it to destroy Uncanny Valley and was afraid of what could've happened if the circumstances were different. And when overcome with fear and grief as well as disappointing his partner, he felt unworthy of his powers and renounced them, not wanting to hurt anyone.

Despite all these traits, Adrien's change to his superhero status doesn't diminish his kindness and concern for others, among his other personality traits, such as his reasonable character and reckless behavior. He usually tries to persuade the supervillains to calm down and stop their rampage before fighting them when able to do so. While more prone to goofing off, Cat Noir gets serious when it is a lethal situation. He understands that it takes more than just superpowers to be a hero or useful, using his wits to help Ladybug out of a tight spot even without them. Even understanding that it's a hero's duty to rescue everyone especially those that cause trouble holding onto hope by setting an example for them that it will help others change seen in "Felix". Underneath his hero exterior, Cat Noir never forgets that he and Ladybug are still human with their own problems. He also knows how to cheer up his partner during their hardest times and encourages her to try to fight again. Deeply loyal and determined to help others and save the day, he really cherishes being uninhibited by his civilian life as a superhero. Due to his lifestyle and yet unlike his father he isn't tempted by power because he understands depending on how a person uses it won't get them what they need the most.

Cat Noir is welcoming and friendly when it comes to accepting new additions to the team, having open arms for Lila in "Volpina" and Rena Rouge in "Sapotis". He is also open to accepting help from others like Alix and Nathaniel during battles, as shown during the time he was reversed from "puss to wuss", becoming a complete coward, contrasting to his brave and confident nature. Like Ladybug, he is good at providing advice to others when they need it.  As Cat Noir, Adrien has the people's loyalty, respect, trust, and help when he needs it.

Through spending time with his other allies, Cat Noir, like Ladybug, also values their support and help. Thanks to his time as his alter ego and daringly wanting to see the outside world, Adrien got to experience something his father may have forgotten the love of others. Starting to feel that Ladybug and others are like his second family. As well as valuing the support, companionship, and help of his friends.