Amanda Evert was once Lara Croft's best friend until an accident in Peru.
Amanda is a metaphysicist and is fascinated by mysticism. She always dreamed of rediscovering forgotten truths about mystical knowledge driven from the world by modern science. She is the main antagonist of Tomb Raider: Legend and the secondary antagonist of Tomb Raider: Underworld.
Early Life
Amanda went to Peru on an expedition with university colleagues and her best friend, Lara Croft. In order to get her friend to chase her through a cave system they were exploring, Amanda teased Lara.
However, their playful escapade was suddenly interrupted when a mysterious Force Monster began killing their colleagues. As they fled from it they came to a dead end, trapped in a large room. Amanda spied the Wraith Stone and, believing it might unlock the door, she pried it from the wall- which caused the Force Monster to disappear and opened the door. A small cave in began, and they attempted to escape. Amanda's foot caught between fallen rocks and a large gate fell, separating Lara from her. Lara tried lifting the gate as the room began to flood, but Amanda was seemingly crushed by more dislodged rocks. Lara had no choice but to leave.
Amanda survived by harnessing the shadow powers of the Force Monster and developed a huge resentment toward her former friend. She adopted a new style of dress mirroring a Gothic theme, myriad tattoos, and quite an attitude.
At some point, she met with James Rutland and the two formed a romantic relationship.
Amanda became acquainted with Jaqueline Natla at a later time and ensnared her. She used The Atlantean as a way to learn more about Avalon and forged an alliance of sorts, though she continued to keep Natla imprisoned. She used Natla's knowledge and resources in order to try and uncover a way to reach Avalon.
Tomb Raider: Legend
Amanda goes to Bolivia in order to use the Dais in order to reach Avalon. Unfortunately she is interrupted by Lara. The Dais is unusable without the key, and she escapes via helicopter. She leaves in order to track down the location of the key, an ancient sword, before the firefight breaks out.
Amanda sends Rutland to Ghana to collect a piece of the sword while she attempts to steal the Ghalali Key, believed to be the element needed to repair the sword, from Lara's home in England. She leaves empty-handed, and makes her way to Kazakhstan to retrieve another piece of the sword from an old soviet facility.
Arriving with a large battalion of mercenaries, Amanda orders the slaughtering of the soldiers stationed at the facility. Lara finds her and tries to apologise, though her words are ignored by Amanda. She orders her men to not allow Lara to follow after her. Lara manages to catch up to her and again strives to explain what happened in Peru, but Amanda once again brushes her off. Showing off the Wraith Stone draped about her neck, Amanda explains how she uses the stone to release the Force Monster- much to Lara's horror. She warns Lara to stay out of the Force Monster's way. She attempts to release the sword fragment, yet Lara reaches it first and the facility commences being engulfed in flames. The pair make their separate escapes.
Amanda arrives once more at Bolivia, ahead of Lara and the reforged Excalibur. Lara demands they stand down. Amanda orders her men to attack anyway. Lara draws King Arthur's sword and kills Amanda's men and Rutland. Enraged, Amanda commands the Force Monster to kill Lara in retaliation. She is once again unsuccessful in her endeavor, as Lara manages to kill the creature once and for all. In the final moments of the commotion, Amanda is knocked unconscious. Lara confiscates the Wraith Stone and finally approaches the Dais.
She successfully uses Excalibur to open the portal and is astounded to see her mother, quickly realizing she is looking into her own past. Amanda calls out to Amelia that she must remove the key now, or her daughter will die. Amelia doesn't hesitate and quickly pulls out the sword, severing the connection. Lara realizes that Amanda is the one to blame for her mother's disappearance and demands to know where her mother is. Amanda reveals that Lara's mother is in Avalon. Lara knocks her out and leaves.
Tomb Raider: Underworld
After the destruction of the Dais in Bolivia, Amanda tries to find another way to reach Avalon. After extensive research, she discovers it is the same place as the ancient Norse Underworld, Helheim. Working with Natla, she discovers that there may be another way in, though it would require retrieving the Hammer of Thor, Mjölnir. To acquire the Hammer, Amanda must collect both of Thor's gauntlets and his belt. Her research soon leads her to the location of the first gauntlet: Niflheim, another place of afterlife in Norse legend, located in the Mediterranean Sea. However, her men arrive just after Lara Croft, who has already worn the first gauntlet. Her men take the gauntlet from Lara and return to the ship they are currently using as a base. Lara is quick to follow, and she fights her way through the ship until a guard begins a chain reaction that causes the ship to start sinking.
Amanda attempts to put the gauntlet on but it doesn't fit. Natla reveals that since Lara has already worn it, it is now compatible with her, and only her, much to Amanda's anger and dismay. She leaves quickly to escape the sinking vessel, while another hoists Natla's containment tube through the ceiling. Spotting Lara on the sinking ship, Amanda throws the gauntlet to her, knowing that she is now the only way Helheim will be reached.
Amanda worked with Natla to create a Doppelgänger of Lara to retrieve the Wraith Stone and destroy Croft Manor. She later appears on the sister ship to the one Lara sank. It is here she is betrayed by Natla, who has the Doppelgänger throw her over a balcony.
Amanda then follows Lara and Natla to the Arctic Circle, where they open the gates of Helheim. She comes across the Doppelgänger about to kill Lara and attacks it using the Wraith Stone. She tells Lara to stop Natla, who is planning to raise the Midgard Serpent, which would release a deadly poison and bring about the Seventh Age. She volunteers to stay behind to stop the monsters from following Lara.
After Lara successfully destroys the Midgard Serpent, Amanda laments that even though they saved the world, they would die in the chamber, following up with a snide comment about Lara's mother. Lara turns as though to hit Amanda, but stops, noticing another Dais. It has been damaged. Lara, nevertheless, holds it together and asks Amanda to activate the Dais. Amanda is shocked that Lara would trust her. The pair activate the Dais, and are transported to Nepal. Amanda charges the Wraith Stone and Lara asks if killing her would make them even. Amanda doesn't answer. She turns and walks away, leaving Lara alone in the room where she lost her mother.
Alternate Ending
After both Amanda and Lara leave the temple, Amanda attempts to kill Lara using a rock, but Lara shoots her in the knee. After contemplating whether or not to finish off Amanda, Lara walks away instead, leaving an injured Amanda behind in the snow. Amanda calls out to Lara while attempting to stand, but her injured knee collapses and she falls, agonizing. Lara ignores her and leaves her for dead.
Abilities
Amanda is incredibly intelligent, quite possibly being as smart as Lara.
Through the use of the Wraith Stone, Amanda can control the Force Monster, she can also merge with it. She can also absorb the power to use it without the stone. Even after the Force Monster is killed, Amanda can use the stone to conjure up energy blasts, to kill creatures, or destroy objects obstructing her path, though it does seem to have a limit to its use.
Trivia
- Amanda's standard outfit and her winter outfit both appear as costumes for Lara in Tomb Raider: Legend.
- In Tomb Raider: Legend when Lara first meets James Rutland, Amanda can be seen sitting on the edge of the helicopter.
- In Tomb Raider: Underworld, a cut ending is still present on the PlayStation 2 version because the developers of the PlayStation 2 port forgot to remove it. The ending shows that Lara and Amanda were to escape together, however, Amanda tries to hit Lara with a rock but Lara shoots Amanda and leaves her in the snow to freeze to death. The ending was cut because the Developers decided the real ending ties up loose ends and shows Amanda and Lara make amends.
- It is said that Amanda has a sister named Lisa, and two brothers named William and Stephen, but they are never mentioned throughout the series.
- Amanda does have tattoos in Legend, but they don't appear in Underworld.
Gallery
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