| “ | Come on, Monarch. Find me. Give me the power to find my sister. In exchange, I promise I'll get you Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous! | „ |
| ~ Jalil waiting for Monarch to Akumatize him. |
| “ | I'm not Jalil anymore, I am Pharaoh! Ladybug claims to have sent Alix into the time continuum for safety. You'll see, dad. As soon as she or Cat Noir doesn't have the answer, they'll use Alix to go to the right era and bring them the answer! And this will prove me right—Ladybug is a selfish liar! | „ |
| ~ Pharoah explaining his plan to prove his beliefs correct to his father. |
| “ | Monarch, you lied to me! Take back your blasted powers! | „ |
| ~ Pharoah realizing he was wrong and breaking the akumatization. |
Jalil Kubdel, known as The Pharaoh in his Akumatized form, is a minor character in the 2015 French superhero cartoon series Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir.
He is a young historian who works at the Louvre Museum, and the son of Alim Kubdel, and the older brother of Alix Kubdel/Bunnyx, who is occasionally targeted by Hawk Moth. Although usually a neutral character, in "Reunion", mistakenly believing that Ladybug and Cat Noir are villains, and wanting to bring his sister back to the present, he temporarily becomes a villainous character as he willingly allows Monarch to Akumatize him, before eventually realizing the error of his ways.
In the French dub, he was voiced by Franck Tordjman. In the English dub, he was voiced by Vic Mignogna in Season 1, who also voiced Burter, Broly and his Dragon Ball Super counterpart in Dragon Ball, Obito Uchiha and Nagato in Naruto, Melzargard in One Punch Man, and Vega in Street Fighter. In Season 5, he was voiced by Alejandro Saab, who also voiced Trebol in One Piece and Red Manuel in the Nomad of Nowhere.
History[]
Season 1[]
In "The Pharaoh", Jalil first appears while Marinette and Alya are at the Louvre, bumping into them, and recognizing them as classmates of his sister. He approaches his father, and points out a papyrus scroll depicting Tutankhamen and his wife Nefertiti, who died and was taken by Ra as a wife. He continues, stating that Tutankhamen devised a plan to revive Nefertiti by offering Ra a new wife, and that he has translated the heiroglyphics explaining how the ritual can be performed. Alim tries to dissuade his son's theory, insisting that the ritual is just a legend, although Jalil remains adamant, and claims that he only needs to use Tutankhamen's scepter to recite the spell. Alim shuts down this proposition and demands that his son focus on the real world, disheartening him.
Hawk Moth detects Jalil's sadness and sends an Akuma to him as he is skulking outside the Louvre, infecting his amulet. Addressing him as Pharaoh, Hawk Moth says that he has granted him the power of the ancient gods and wants a favour in exchange for his gift; Jalil accepts, and declares that Nefertiti will come back to life, transforming into Pharaoh. Pharaoh barges into the Louvre and uses the power of Thoth to imprison the employees and visitors in time-slowing bubbles; Marinette escapes and transforms into Ladybug, while Alya stays behind and records Pharaoh for her Ladyblog. Ladybug confronts Pharaoh as he is stealing Tutankhamen's scepter, but he overpowers her and the arriving Cat Noir. He then discovers Alya and declares that fate has led him to her, and kidnaps her.
Ladybug and Cat Noir try to rescue Alya, but Pharaoh escapes using Sekhmet's strength to open the Louvre's security bars, closing them again to imprison the heroes. Cat Noir uses his Cataclysm to destroy the bars, and Ladybug opens Alya's livestream to follow Pharaoh's movements. Outside, Pharaoh tosses Alya to the ground and begins the next phase of his plan, using the power of Anubis to transform nearby civilians into mummy servants. Alya questions Pharaoh's plans, leading him to explain that he is performing the ritual to bring Nefertiti back to life, by creating one hundred mummies and sacrificing a pure soul to Ra, which Alya realizes is herself. As the ritual is about to be begin, Alya notices and asks about a spotted woman on Pharaoh's papyrus.
Pharaoh reveals her to be his nemesis Ladybug, explaining that she thwarted his ritual five-thousand years ago but won't succeed today, amazing Alya; unaware that the past Ladybug is not the same as the one in the present. Pharaoh and his mummies begin the ritual, causing a beam of light to fire from the Louvre, creating a dark vortex. Pharaoh prepares to sacrifice Alya to Ra, until Cat Noir arrives, making him send his mummies after him. However, he quickly realizes that this is a trap, just as Ladybug rescues Alya from his mummies. He uses the power of Horus to fly after her, recapturing Alya and setting his mummies upon Ladybug. He places Alya into the beam of light, lifting her into the vortex, and continues battling Ladybug and Cat Noir using his powers, and Ladybug deduces that his Akuma is in his pendant.
Pharaoh overpowers the heroes with Sekhmet's strength before they can take his pendant, and surrounds them with his mummies. Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm, receiving a costume of herself, and tells Pharaoh to sacrifice her instead of Alya. Pharaoh agrees, and flies Ladybug to the beam of light, and allows Alya to drop safely down. Hawk Moth orders him to take her Miraculous before she is sacrificed. Ladybug goes to hand her earrings over, but tosses them away, stealing Pharaoh's pendant as she does. Pharaoh is ordered to go after the Miraculous, only to realize that they are fake earrings taken from Ladybug's replica costume. Ladybug snaps his pendant, releasing the Akuma. Ladybug uses her Miraculous Ladybug to restore things to normal, de-Akumatizing Pharaoh into Jalil, who questions what happened to him.
Season 2[]
In "Mayura", Pharaoh is shown to be among the villains re-Akumatized by Scarlet Moth and Catalyst. When Ladybug, Cat Noir and their allies arrive to confront Scarlet Moth, Pharaoh uses Horus' powers to carry Princess Fragrance into battle against them, although his pendant is quickly broken by Queen Bee, de-Akumatizing him. Jalil and the other de-Akumatized civilians stand back while Ladybug prepares to defeat Scarlet Moth, only to be re-Akumatized again after being imbued with anger by Dark Cupid. Using Sekhmet's strength, he faces off against Carapace, overpowering him, leading to Rena Rouge and Carapace both being Akumatized. Pharaoh joins the other villains in pursuing Ladybug and Cat Noir when they flee, and then battling the citizens of Paris, ultimately being de-Akumatized when the heroes destroy Scarlet Moth's cane.
Season 5[]
In "Reunion", Jalil attends a gathering in the Louvre, where his father shows off photos that Alix left behind for her family and friends, detailing her adventures across time as the heroine Bunnyx. Jalil suddenly lashes out, accusing his father of letting Alix go and doing nothing to help her, claiming that Ladybug brainwashed and forced Alix to abandon her family by Ladybug. Alim insists that Alix left of her own free will to help Ladybug protect the Rabbit Miraculous from Monarch, and asks where his son heard his theory. Jalil pulls up an online forum on his Alliance ring, allowing the avatar to read off the user's comments, each insisting that Ladybug isn't the hero Paris thinks she is. Alim tells his son that he has been spending too much time on social media since Alix left; Jalil replies that he is at least trying to do something, and storms off.
Jalil retreats to Egyptian gallery, where he continues listening to theories about Ladybug. He turns off the Alliance, and asks Monarch to find him, promising that he will get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous in exchange for the power to find his sister. Monarch notices this and sends an Akuma to Jalil, determined to reclaim the Rabbit Miraculous in order to make up for losing it before. The Akuma infects Jalil's folder, and Monarch transforms him back into Pharaoh, telling him that Ladybug fooled his sister and that he must confront her with the truth to bring Alix back. Pharaoh calls upon the power of Maat, and infuses his power into his folder, creating the Book of Truth. Monarch then transmits the power of the Turtle Miraculous into Pharaoh's Alliance, allowing him to use Shell-ter to create a forcefield around the Alliance.
The Book of Truth sends beams of light across the Louvre, creating blockades around the entrances, and trapping most of Paris in a giant pyramid. The Book of Truth challenges Ladybug and Cat Noir to face the truth, and begins trapping those who fail to answer its questions truthfully, including Roger Raincomprix and Alim. Pharaoh confronts his father when he is trapped, telling him that his questions will force Ladybug and Cat Noir to summon Bunnyx and bring them the correct answer, therefore proving that Ladybug is a liar and is using Bunnyx for her own gain. However, to his frustration, Ladybug and Cat Noir succeed in dispelling two blockades by answering the Book of Truth's questions—Ladybug receiving help from the apparition of Jeanne d'Arc, a past Ladybug Miraculous holder. Ladybug and Cat Noir soon unite and become stuck at the final blockade protecting Pharaoh, which asks what the weather will be in Paris in two-hundred years.
Both Pharaoh and Monarch express confidence that this question will force the heroes to summon Bunnyx, as it will be impossible for them to answer the question without her help. Instead, Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm, a pen, to leave a message for Bunnyx to find in the future, enabling her to write back with the correct answer. Ladybug dispels the blockade, revealing Pharaoh on the other side, who wrathfully says that she got lucky. Ladybug, Cat Noir and Jeanne battle the Pharaoh—although the latter is unable to harm him at all, being an apparition. Pharaoh proclaims that even though Ladybug didn't summon Bunnyx directly, she still used her for her own ends, proving that she is the real villain. Ladybug determines that the Book of Truth must contain the Akuma, and has Cat Noir use his Cataclysm to destroy the Shell-ter protecting it.
She attempts to grab the book using her yo-yo, only for Pharaoh to immediately produce another Shell-ter and capture Cat Noir, threatening to remove his Miraculous if she doesn't admit to being a villain. Ladybug tells Pharaoh to instead ask the Book of Truth to find out, which he agrees to do, despite Monarch's insistence otherwise. Pharaoh asks the Book if Ladybug is a real hero, and if his sister left voluntarily, learning that both are true. Furious, Pharaoh snaps at Monarch for lying to him and de-Akumatizes himself. Once Ladybug restores things to normal, Jalil apologizes to the heroes for doubting them, and being fooled by Monarch and social media. Ladybug affirms that he is still able to think for himself, and that his sister thinks the same, presenting him with a message left by Bunnyx, telling him to fist-bump with Ladybug and Cat Noir, which he happily does.
Powers and Abilities[]
Jalil is skilled at reading hieroglyphs and knowledgeable about history.
As the Pharoah, he possesses enhanced strength and abilities, telekinesis, and can summon the powers of various Egyptian gods. This includes Thoth, the god of knowledge, who gives him the power to create and trap people in time-slowing bubbles; Sekhmet, the goddess of fire, war, dance, etc, who increases his strength so that he can create shockwaves by clapping his hands; Anubis, the god of death and funerary rituals, who allows him to transform others into mummies; Horus, the god of sky and kinship, who allows him to fly; and Maat, the goddess of truth, whose power he can transmit into the Book of Truth, which creates walls that can only be opened by answering questions truthfully, imprisoning anyone who fails to answer correctly.
Trivia[]
- He is the sixth character in the series to willingly allow themselves to be Akumatized, following Gabriel Agreste, Nathalie Sancoeur, Lila Rossi, Chloé Bourgeois, and Tomoe Tsurugi. However, he is the only one to recognize the error of his ways after being de-Akumatized and reform.
- Following Chloé, he is the second willing Akumatized villain to de-Akumatize themselves.
- Interestingly, aside from Gabriel himself, he is the only willing Akumatized villain to be male.
- Some historical inaccuracies surround The Pharaoh and his forms:
- In the original French dub, he is instead known as Akhenaten, named after the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty in Egypt, and the father of Tutankhamen. Ironically, despite invoking the Egyptian gods for his powers, the historical Akhenaten is remembered for abandoning Egypt's traditional polytheism and instead introducing Atenism during his reign.
- In the English dub, although he states that he wishes to revive Tutankhamen's wife Nefretiti, this is incorrect, as Nefretiti was actually one of Akhenaten's wives.
- When summoning the power of Thoth, his mask takes the shape of a baboon, when Thoth was much more commonly depicted as an Ibis. Despite this, some Egyptians also believed him to be a baboon.
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Hawk Moth and his allies Akumatized Criminals Other Miraculous holders Sentimonsters New York Shanghai Re-Verse Others | ||
 Villains
| |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir Zak Storm: Super Pirate Power Players | |||||||||||