Don't worry, you're not gonna become one of my fans, you don't deserve it. I've got something a little special in store for you. Something with a little Rock. 'N. Roll.
"Guitar Villain, I am Hawk Moth. I'm giving you and your vicious crocodile the power to show the whole world that you are the number one rocker! Just make sure you get me Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous in return."
—Hawk Moth
When the rock star Jagged Stone is pressured into changing his music to keep up sales, his anger allows Hawk Moth to transform him into the Guitar Villain, who will make everyone appreciate his music whether they want to or not.
Tropes:
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: XY frantically begs for his life when Guitar Villain forces him to Walk the Plank. Considering said plank was on the highest part of the Eiffel Tower, nobody can really blame him.
- All Animals Are Dogs: Fang is kept on a leash, wags his tail when something pleases him, and growls at people he feels are threatening his owner. Fang is a crocodile.
- Artistic License – Animal Care: A hotel room is far from the ideal habitat of a crocodile. And you should definitely not feed them music CDs or an IPad!
- Asshole Victim: Subverted with XY. Although he makes some catty remarks about Jagged Stone, he's not a complete Jerkass and certainly doesn't deserve to be executed.
- Borrowed Catchphrase:
- Or rather Stolen Catchphrase, in the case of XY using one of Jagged Stone's lines - "My music is killer!"
- Cat Noir, Marinette, Ladybug, and Tikki all borrow Guitar Villain's catchphrases at one point or another. Might border on Got Me Doing It.
- Bullying a Dragon: At the end of the episode, Jagged tells his producer that threatening to fire him won't work since other record companies would want to have the second top-performer on the charts. It ends up reaching number 1 at the charts dethroning Mr. XY.
- Call-Back: The glasses Marinette made for Jagged Stone come in to play here, as his fondness for them convinces him to have Marinette design his next album cover.
- Calling Your Attacks: Guitar Villain does this: "Awesome solo!"
- Continuity Nod:
- The glasses Marinette made for Jagged Stone were previously seen in "Pixelator".
- One of the people controlled by Guitar Villain is Xavier Ramier, AKA Mr. Pigeon.
- Fastball Special: Ladybug catches Cat Noir's leg with her yo-yo and propels him straight at the dragon so that he tries a Palate Propping.
- A Glass in the Hand: Jagged Stone is so infuriated by XY's interview that he ends breaking the IPad he was watching it on. Then he feeds his pet crocodile with it.
- Insult Backfire:
- Jagged Stone takes XY calling him crazy as complement.
- XY also laughs when he hears that Jagged Stone will attack him, asking if he will try to kill him with his music. Ladybug and Cat Noir confirm this with a Blunt "Yes".
- I Was Just Joking: XY says this when Guitar Villain confronts him for the insults about Jagged Stone.
- Jerkass: XY, who has so little invested in the music industry that he brags he can just have a hologram take his place in his "concerts".
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Cat Noir asks a purified Jagged Stone for his autograph.
- Making a Spectacle of Yourself: Marinette's made Jagged Stone some Eiffel Tower-themed shaded colored like the French flag.
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: Fang, Jagged Stone's pet crocodile. He even turns into a dragon when his owner is akumatised.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: XY can be seen as a caricature of Justin Bieber in his early career, especially with his purple color scheme, youthful facial features (Jagged refers to him as a "baby"), Jerkass tendencies, and repetitive yet catchy pop tunes.
- Palate Propping: Attempted by Cat Noir by putting his Telescoping Staff between Fang's jaw, but the dragon dislodges it pretty quickly.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Averted normally with Jagged Stone's pet crocodile Fang, an intelligent and rather noble creature who always sides with Jagged Stone with appropriate growls or grins. He even beats his tail to the rhythm! Played straight when he is turned into a dragon and is under the command of Guitar Villain.
- Retcon: In the flashback, Marinette gives Jagged Stone the glasses directly while he's in the elevator. In "Pixelator", the episode she made them in, she gives them to Penny outside of Jagged Stone's room. It's not necessarily contradictory, given there's no scene of Penny handing them over, but it nevertheless begs the question of how Marinette would end up giving them to him under those circumstances. The flashback also implies the glasses were a gift from Marinette; in "Pixelator", the glasses were a specific request from Jagged Stone. Doubles as a case of Unreliable Narrator.
- Second Place Is for Losers: Bob Roth's attitude toward Jagged being the #2 musician on the charts. Jagged himself is insulted that the #2 musician on the charts is at risk of being fired for holding that position, and rightfully points out that other record companies would be thrilled to hire someone so successful.
- Shout-Out:
- The makeup around Guitar Villain's eyes, bear a resemblance to Gene Simmons's Kiss makeup.
- Jagged Stone's name brings to mind both the Rolling Stones and Mick Jagger.
- "Guitar Villain" is a reference to Guitar Hero.
- Squee: Marinette has two instances:
- When Jagged Stone insists on using her redone cover.
- Adrien asking for her autograph.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: Both Jagged Stone and Marinette comment on XY's covers looking like perfume advertisements. Marinette also adds to Jagged's album sticker that makes it smell like sweat and leather, exactly like he described it when she wasn't around.
- Subverted Catchphrase: Ladybug, after she catches the akuma, says "Rock 'n Roll" instead of "Gotcha."
- Take That!: The entire episode is basically a commentary on how current mainstream artists are beloved by the populace despite their music not having as much technical skill or finesse as that of the earlier musical greats.
- Walk the Plank: Guitar Villain forces XY to walk to the edge of a plank stuck to the top of the Eiffel Tower, then uses his music to shake it so XY will fall.
- Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Jagged Stone feeds his IPad to Fang when XY insults him on TV. He also destroys XY's special effects at the Eiffel Tower.
