Marinette Dupain-Cheng, better known as Ladybug, is one of the two main protagonists (alongside Cat Noir/Adrien Agreste) of Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie.
She is a student at Collège Françoise Dupont. With her magical earrings, inhabited by a Kwami named Tikki, she has the power of creation and can transform into the superhero Ladybug.
Appearance[]
Marinette is half-French and half-Chinese. She has vivid azure eyes, light scarlet lipsticks, freckles, and black hair with blue highlights that she usually wears back in two pigtails with red bands.
She wears a dark gray dress blazer with sleeves and a collar that are white with pink polka dots and outlined with black. Underneath, she wears a white t-shirt with a black collar and sleeve line, and a design below the collar with black leaves and pink flowers. Also, she has pink jeans and very reddish-brown soled light pink ballet shoes. She wears earrings that are black when not holding Tikki.
As Ladybug, she wears a red ladybug-themed superhero black turtleneck collared jumpsuit with black spots. Above her hips, she wears her yo-yo around them with the string, and she wears a red mask with black spots. Her earrings become red with five black spots, and the bands holding her hair back become red ribbons. Her hair and her eyes become slightly bluer.
Biography[]
Becoming Ladybug[]
On the first day of school, Marinette is getting ready to leave but her father keeps offering her to take her to school but she declines the offer until her father offers to pick her up after school and offer some unicorn cupcakes the kids there much to her embarrassment and she still declines the offer. She reminds him that she doesn't have any friends until her mother is able to fool her husband into leaving. Marinette confides her fears to her mother about being made fun of and how to make dreams come true but her mother advises her to listen to her heart and believe in herself. On the way to school, she establishes her personality and internal conflict and how she likes to be a fashion designer before she leaves after she embarrasses herself on falling on the ground in front of Nathalie Sancoeur before she leaves.
After getting to school, Marinette is still worried about what the other students will think until Nino Lahiffe bumps into her which causes her to bump into Chloé Bourgeois which makes a drop of Chloé's coffee get on her sweater much to everybody's shock. Chloé is about to angrily beat her up but Alya reveals that she's recording what will happen if she does which makes Chloé back off. Marinette is grateful to Alya as they both get to know each other and Alya and decides to be her friend. In each of the classes, Marinette fails at many things with Alya trying her best to support her. They then part ways and Marinette starts imagining everybody talking about how clumsy she is and thinking bad things about her. She reaches her locker until Chloé appears again threatening to beat her after school but she distracts Chloé and escapes into the library. She sadly thinks that she'll leave Paris and change everything about herself until she meets Adrien Agreste who notices that she's crying but she tries to deny it as as allergies to pollen much to his confusion. While reading and working, he doesn't notice Marinette starting to fall for him and she actually falls with some books and he helps her up and puts the books away and she is about to ask him to hang out but notices him having left.
When Marinette is about to leave, Chloé along with Sabrina Raincomprix getting ready to beat her up (though the latter is unwilling to do so) and this forces the girl to flee. While clumsily trying to escape, she saves Master Fu from being run over and the old master is grateful and tries to make her come with him to save the world much to her confusion until she keeps fleeing from Chloé and Sabrina and she hides in an alleyway. Sabrina sees her but she lets her go by pretending not to see her. Marinette is relieved until she falls in a Chinese shop. She is intimidated until she notices a ladybug (Tikki in her animal form) until it glows and leads her to what Master Fu said before going under a table where she finds the Ladybug Miraculous and puts it on which also releases Tikki which also freaks Marinette out. Tikki informs her of the Miraculous and that she is the chosen wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous but Marinette is reluctant until Tikki transforms Marinette into Ladybug much to the the girl's shock. She is first amazed before being annoyed by her weapon being a yo-yo until it drags her all the way to the Notre Dame cathedral where she crashes into Cat Noir (Adrien) and they are both tied upside down before falling. He treats her as a nobody and claims that he's the hero that's come to save the world which she sarcastically thinks he uses "furballs" to save the world. Cat Noir even treats her as looking like a watermelon and decides to reduce her to a sidekick much to her annoyance. While revealing what he has, he doesn't notice Gargoyle (an akumatized Raymond) behind until too late. He gets chased by Gargoyle before getting into a tackle ride on the akumatized villain. Ladybug's yo-yo attaches to Gargoyle who begins to fly and crash through everything out of Notre Dame with the people of Paris seeing Ladybug and Cat Noir for the first time. Gargoyle then flies them into the river before crashing into the train station. When she hears Cat Noir in trouble inside the station, she starts swinging around and even passes by her parents' car much to her shock. Cat Noir gets stuck in the tracks until Ladybug saves him from an incoming train that crashes into Gargoyle which de-akumatizes him in the process. This causes Cat Noir to fall in love with Ladybug as she helps him up the same way he did for her in the library and they both leave when the police arrive.
They both notice the akuma butterfly leaving (after leaving Raymond) and they meet Master Fu (in disguise) who tells them to discover who they are but they bicker about each other until the old master stops them. Fu reveals to them what they stand for, that they must defeat Hawk Moth and capture the akumas who akumatize anyone in supervillains and that they must work together before he disappears. Ladybug refuses to continue being a hero but Cat Noir realizes that failure is her fear but she still continues to refuse be a hero or be a sidekick to him before leaving for home.
Ladybug manages to return home in time to de-transform before her father comes into her room asking what ingredient is needed for dinner which she manages to answer before he leaves. Tikki discusses on needing to Marinette to work on her abilities and of Cat Noir but Marinette believes that it's because of her that anybody could've gotten hurt and that she still thinks he's annoying. Tikki assures that once the world is saved, Cat Noir will never be seen again but Marinette still refuses to be a superhero again. She tries to get rid of Tikki and the Ladybug Miraculous but it keeps coming back until Marinette tells the kwami to leave her alone due to being afraid.
Defeating Akumas and Becoming Paris' Hero[]
The next day, Marinette and Alya are on their way to the fair while discussing about what happened the other night and with the former trying to deny that her later-ego and Cat Noir are a couple before the latter giving advice about love. They then meet Adrien and Nino at the fair. Their best friends assume they like each other but Marinette and Adrien try to deny it. Alya and Nino then leave for one of the rides to let Marinette and Adrien be alone but the two try to make excuses to leave. However, when Marinette mentions the bakery that she lives in, Adrien is amazed by it and believes that her father is awesome. After Marinette drops her stuff to get macarons for him, he notices her sketchings and likes them. However, they both notice Marinette's father standing right next to them much to the girl's embarrassment. Adrien's father (as Hawk Moth) calls him home and the Adrien leaves. Marinette calls her dad out for embarrassing her in front of Adrien.
When the Magician and the Mime attack the fair and Marinette decides to become Ladybug again after deciding to stop being afraid. She falls for a balloon monster's trap is about to be crushed by the balloon monster until Cat Noir arrives and saves her but she accepts him being around this time. They are both confronted by the two villains but stop their attacks before the villains decide to cause chaos with the coaster and the wheel. They both take care of the coaster and wheel while taking on the Magician and the Mime at the same time, but the balloon monster also makes things difficult. However, the two heroes defeat the balloon monster and the two villains while also saving the coaster and wheel with everybody on it. Hawk Moth creates a giant hologram of himself and swears to the two heroes that there will be no mercy next time. All of Paris then see the two as heroes.
The two heroes become Paris' protectors while defeating akumatized villains and becoming famous. During all this, Marinette succeeds in many things in classes and starts to get close to Adrien, their friends and everybody else in school.
Love Confession and Rejection[]
Months later, the two heroes are having ice cream together before they playfully fight together but after an awkward moment, Ladybug leaves for home. The next day at school, Marinette talks with Alya about her plans to ask Adrien to the ball with the latter planning to ask Nino. Chloé claims that Adrien will go with her but Marinette finally stands up to her and mocks the blonde's hair for looking like a rat's nest. That night, Marinette happily finishes making a bow tie for Adrien as a gift and being confident to ask him to the ball but Tikki is more concerned about stopping Hawk Moth. Cat Noir calls Ladybug to the abandoned theatre where his late mother, Emilie Agreste used to perform. He reveals his fears about getting close to anybody that he might lose ever since his mother died but since he met her, he's happy again. He reveals that he prepared a surprise for which is a song that they both sing together and he confesses that it was she that saved his heart and they both dance. He tries to kiss her to confess his love for her but she sadly reveals that there is somebody else (not knowing that Cat Noir is Adrien who is the somebody else) and leaves causing him to feel heartbroken.
The next day at school, Marinette (with Tikki's assistance) approaches Adrien and she confesses her love for him by inviting him to the ball and giving him a tie as a gift but he sadly uses the same words she did by revealing that there is somebody else (not knowing that Marinette is Ladybug who is the somebody else) and leaves. Chloé, believing that Adrien was talking about her, tells Marinette she tried to warn her and that this wasn't like a fairy tale. Feeling heartbroken, Marinette disposes of the tie. That night at home, she wonders if it was enough to be her.
Final Battle With Hawk Moth[]
When Hawk Moth akumatizes himself and unleashes his final attack on Paris that destroys everything, Marinette becomes Ladybug again to try and save the city but is shocked by the destruction that Hawk Moth has caused. She struggles to keep some civilians safe and wonders where Cat Noir is until he arrives to help her when the akuma blasts become too much for her to handle but they are both still emotionally hurt by each other's rejection and failing to show up. They notice Hawk Moth on top of the Eiffel Tower but Cat Noir goes to confront the villain alone. After Hawk Moth knocks Cat Noir down, the hero's Cataclysm accidentally destroys the Eiffel Tower much to Ladybug's shock and her partner falls into the river and the debris knocks him out. Ladybug saves Cat Noir from drowning and Hawk Moth confronts them while turning the river into lava. Ladybug attempts to attack Hawk Moth, but he easily defeats her and steals the Ladybug Miraculous from her in the process. In a vision, Marinette sees Tikki and she believes that she can't defeat Hawk Moth without Ladybug but Tikki urges her to get back up and keep fighting and to overcome her self-doubt. After, slitting Cat Noir's costume and mask, Hawk Moth is about to destroy Cat Noir with a blast but Marinette takes the hit instead to save Cat Noir. Marinette then watches as Hawk Moth lifts Cat Noir up but the hero's slit mask makes him realize that Cat Noir is his son, much to his shock and horror. He ceases the chaos and renounces the Butterfly Miraculous in the process, thus revealing himself as Gabriel much to Adrien and Marinette's shock.
Marinette witnesses and overhears Gabriel revealing Cat Noir as Adrien and the former supervillain breaks down about having almost murdered his son and confesses why he became evil before he and Adrien reconcile and they both share a loving hug which also releases the Ladybug Miraculous back to Marinette who turns back into Ladybug in the process. Gabriel turns himself in and is arrested offscreen when the people of Paris are informed he was Hawk Moth. Master Fu appears again and advises Ladybug to let the sparkle shine through her. Ladybug is not sure how to fix the damage to Paris but Master Fu reminds her of what he said before and reveals himself as the one she saved from a car. Happy about this, Ladybug returns the Butterfly Miraculous to him before leaving to another part of Paris where she gives a speech to the people of Paris that love will protect them if darkness should rise again. Everybody starts chanting her name and this gives her the power to repair the damage Hawk Moth did to Paris. After de-transforming back, she reunites with her parents.
Getting Together With Adrien[]
Months later, Marinette attends the ball where she meets Alya, Nino, Sabrina and Chloé and wanders where Adrien is until Nino reveals that he's outside. Chloé tells Marinette to enjoy the evening until next year where their rivalry will restart again. Outside, Adrien laments how much he misses Ladybug and that his heart is in turmoil. However, Marinette appears and reveals that she knows that he's Cat Noir and that she's Ladybug much to his happiness and they both share a kiss.
Powers and Abilities[]
As Ladybug[]
- Her yo-yo: While sometimes throwing it to swing, it also controls to help her fly onto new adventures with Cat Noir.
Trivia[]
- Unlike her original counterpart:
- Marinette doesn't have stalker like tendencies and can speak perfectly well with Adrien unlike her counterpart, who always stalked him and took five seasons to get together with him.
- She falls in love with Adrien at first sight while the original counterpart is initially suspicious of him because he is childhood friends with Chloé. She only falls for him after an entire episode when she realizes that he is genuinely nice and kind-hearted despite his friendship with Chloé.
- Marinette can transform and de-transform into her Ladybug form normally unlike her counterpart, who needed to say a transformation and de-transformation phrase to transform into her Ladybug form.
- She only knows Chloé on the first day of school unlike her original counterpart, who had known Chloé for years and had been bullied by her during those years.
- She also stands up to Chloé much earlier unlike her original counterpart, who never stood up to Chloé until the near end of the fifth season.
- She takes much longer to accept her role as Ladybug, almost the entire film. As a result, she doesn't have the chance to exhibit the same level of confidence or intelligence of the original counterpart.
- She and Cat Noir are treated as equals unlike her and his original counterparts.
- She never uses any Lucky Charm from her yo-yo.
- Ladybug gets defeated quickly by Hawk Moth in the final showdown and Cat Noir is the one to cause Hawk Moth's defeat when the villain realizes that he was fighting his son unlike her original counterpart, who fights Adrien's father and causes his defeat while Adrien doesn't fight his father.
- Marinette finds out that Adrien is Cat Noir after seeing him and his father together revealing themselves and gets together with the former in the end unlike her original counterpart, who currently doesn't know that Adrien is Cat Noir while still getting together with him.
- Her funny nickname "Bug-a-boo" by Cat Noir is not used.
- As Ladybug in the movie version, her yo-yo string when it attached to the waist is black, but in the show, her yo-yo string that attaches to her waist is red.
- Her hair tie in the movie is pink, but in the show, it's red.