Miraculous has an interesting villain actually.
One thing that stands out with Hawk Moth is how he doesn’t have any villainous henchmen. He’s not the leader of an evil organization with warriors doing the heavy lifting while he sits around until the final battle ala Tokusatsu.
Rather he’s mainly working on his own and feeling out emotions to take hold, corrupting them into his own warriors. He’s the one who creates the Monsters of the Day while also being the Big Bad.
There’s also his clear limitations as a villain. He can only send out one Akuma at a time, answering the “Why not make an army?” question posed on a lot of villain groups in Toku. Thus Scarlet Moth naturally made Season Two’s finale a showstopper.
Then there’s the Akumatized Villains themselves. I find myself reminded of a lot of Totally Spies‘ villains and Rogues Gallery. Their motivations could often be… ridiculous. Utterly even.
Spending money and resources to turn humans into dolphins or get the world addicted to their brand of coffee. There was an Australian anti-capitalist that kidnapped shoppers to destroy all the world’s malls to avenge his family‘s Mom and Pop store.
How’d he do that? Simple.
He created a massive network of underground mine tunnels that EXPAND ACROSS THE GLOBE AND SECTIONS OFF CERTAIN STORES WITHIN THEIR MALLS TO DESCEND ONTO A TROLLEY BOUND FOR THE DOWN UNDER.
From there, he has an entire tech team creating brainwashing microchips to make the shoppers his personal army. He even has them take didgeridoo lessons because… Australia.
Where does Hawk Moth come in? Well, he takes raw emotions like wanting payback for stealing a song or wishing adults would go away and gives those people power to make it happen in the moment. Rather than them being individuals with all this crazy power off the bat, they need somebody to cut a deal with to make it happen.
This also leads to him having “I’m surrounded by idiots“ moments when his victims have more irrational emotions. Not that he doesn’t get caught up in his own theatrics.
Finally, there’s the man behind the mask: Gabriel Agreste. Though many guessed the twist, there was reason to doubt that a stiff like him could ever be as animated as a classic Disney villain.
Yet there’s an interesting duality in how he acts when he transforms back and forth, keeping consistency with the identity he’s donned Even when alone. Clark Kenting like this makes sense for a villain or hero but there’s something more.
Hawk Moth reveals the inner Gabriel. He might be doing this for his wife but it’s clear that part of him loves playing the villain. The monologues when feeling out his next victim, his wordplays for his Champions along with their bizarre looks, his exit speeches when none can hear him.
Nathalie even shows this as Mayura, her droll manner of speaking becoming more malicious. it feels like a mix of new age Twist Villains and Classic Larger-Than-Life from Disney movies. Yet it works better than you’d expect.
The most interesting moments is when the line between these identities blur. When Hawk Moth shows his Gabriel by calling off an Akuma from Adrien or with Animaestro where he monologues untransformed. It does keep you guessing.
Particularly, who will be the real him when he’s made his wish?
