Most of the primary characters in Miraculous Ladybug can be considered expys to the Spider-Man cast in some capacity.
- Marinette Dupain-Cheng is an obvious stand-in for Peter Parker himself; both are Endearingly Dorky arthropod-themed teenage heroes (at least at the start - "Timetagger" indicates that Ladybug, much like Spider-Man, will continue her heroic career well into adulthood) who wear primarily red costumes, travel about via Building Swing, and have enhanced senses of intuition (Peter has his Spider-Sense, while Marinette uses Awesomeness by Analysis to make use of her various Lucky Charms).
- Her alternate universe counterpart Shadybug is a stand in for the versions of Peter Parker depicted in multiverse stories, especially ones that result in less heroic variants of Spider-Man. She also has elements of the Silver Surfer in being formerly a more powerful villain's representative before defecting to the join the protagonists.
- Adrien Agreste has Peter's traits of being a Stepford Smiler with a wise-cracking alter ego alongside shades of multiple prominent characters from the Spider-Man mythos; he's a blond-haired Love Interest to The Hero (like Gwen Stacy), is a model like Mary Jane Watson, has a feline-themed alter ego in which he acts openly flirtatious towards Ladybug (calling to mind Felicia Hardy); and is a Lonely Rich Kid with a close friendship with the hero and strained relationship with an father who happens to an villain, not unlike Harry Osborn. His identical cousin Felix takes after the movie versions of Harry as an antihero/anti-villain with his name being a masculine variant of "Felicia". Then both are revealed to take after Ben Reily as artificial humans with blonde hair.
- Gabriel Agreste is this for Norman Osborn: Both are a hero's arch nemesis who is a businessman with poor parenting skills and (depending on the version of Norman) created the hero's Rogues' Gallery. He also has elements of Wilson Fisk in wearing white clothes and being a Villain with Good Publicity. His forms as Hawk Moth and Monarch take after Thanos as purple-colored villain seeking a McGuffin set to rewrite reality, his Monarch form taking aspects of the ''Heroes Reborn'' version of Thanos who is armed with magic rings. His death scene also combines the death scenes of the Sam Raimi Spiderman Trilogy's Norman Osborn and the MCU's Thanos.
- During the Heroes Day special, his Scarlet Moth form is very similar to the Red Lanterns, being a red-colored villain who operates by exploiting others' inner rage to control them.
- Chloé Bourgeois is comparable to Flash Thompson: Both are The Bully to the hero's civilian form, but are ironically fans of their superhero alter egos. Both have a Freudian Excuse involving Abusive Parents, and both eventually become heroes in their own right. Chloé can also been seen as a composite of Sally Arvil (cruel Alpha Bitch classmate who picks on the protagonist and only became a hero for the glory) and the Eddie Brock version of Venom (Having a grudge against the hero over a misunderstanding with her Anti-Bug form being the hero's black-colored Evil Counterpart)
- Lila Rossi can be seen as the Sam Raimi version of Eddie Brock in both being sociopaths with a grudge against the hero because they deliberately exposed them as liars and willingly embraced their Superpowered Evil Side to be considered the hero's Evil Counterpart. Lila predates Chloé in hating both Ladybug and Marinette.note Her usual villain form Volpina is Mysterio as both use their illusionist powers to pretend to superheroes in their initial appearance. In season five, Lila takes traits of the MCU version of Mysterio in acting under an alias and plotting revenge on a former employer who callously fired them.
- Carapace is reminiscent of Captain America, being based more on protecting than attacking and with his fighting style based on his shield. Even the name "Carapace" hearkens to Cap a bit.
- Alya is reminiscent of ''Ultimate Spiderman'' version of Mary Jane Watson, being a fiery redhead journalist. During the fifth season, Alya's tenure as Scarbella makes her comparable to Miles Morales: Both dark-skinned successor/temps to the current hero.
- Santa Claus' akumatized Santa Claws form resembles the Green Goblin (Elvish fiend with green-skin and holiday motif) while Marc Anciel's akumatized form Reverser bears a passing resemblance to the Hobgoblin (He wears a hood and rides on an object that glides along the sky).
- New York City is protected by the United HeroeZ, a team based on both the Justice League and The Avengers (with some variations).
- Majestia is a fusion of Wonder Woman and Supergirl whose appearance evokes Carol Danvers.
- Uncanny Valley, a heroic AI with Eye Beams created by another hero, is one of The Vision.
- Knightowl is one of Batman - aloof The Cowl and Badass Normal named for a nocturnal-themed animal with a bird-themed sidekick and a strict moral code. Also, her name and design evoke Nite-Owl of Watchmen. Oh, and her real name is Barbara.
- Sparrow is one of Robin, as the Kid Sidekick to the Batman expy named for a small bird. And then she 'graduates' to the more mature, independent superhero identity of Eagle, evoking Dick Grayson's transition to Nightwing. Also, her weaponized skateboard invokes Night Thrasher of New Warriors.
- Doorman is Dean Pelton from Community with Portal Door powers.
- Victory is one of Captain America, both being shield-wielding superheroes with a noted theme of patriotism.
- The Agents are a combo of the Power Rangers and Totally Spies!.
- Mercury is one of The Flash/Quicksilver.
- There are also expies of Bumblebee/Wasp (Sting), Storm (Hurricane), Ice (Snowflake), and Poison Ivy (Thorn).
