Lara Croft Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Lara Croft Wiki

For Lara Croft in other continuities, see Lara Croft disambiguation page
"Well this is a tomb, I'll make them Feel at home."
―Lara Croft[src]

Lara Croft, 11th Countess of Abbingdon[3], is an English archaeologist, explorer, and the protagonist of Crystal Dynamics' first reboot timeline (Legend Timeline) of Tomb Raider video games.

Unlike her original series counterpart, Lara's adventures were fuelled by much more than just the thrill of adventure. Lara blamed herself for the disappearance of her mother and worked to discover the truth of what happened to her, as well as preventing the destruction of modern civilization on several occasions, by facing off against power hungry deities.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Lara Croft was born in Surrey's Parkside hospital to Lady Amelia Croft and the notorious archaeologist Lord Richard Croft, the late Earl of Abbingdon. Between the ages of three and six, she attended the Abbingdon Girls School, where it quickly became clear that she was an exceptionally gifted child.

At the age of nine, Lara and her mother were in the Croft's private jet over the Himalayas when lightning struck the engines and caused the plane to crash land. Her mother and Lara were the only survivors at the time. When exploring a nearby temple, Lara inadvertently triggered a mysterious portal, to - as we later find out - the future, by touching a sword. Lara's mother, misunderstanding the person on the other side - Amanda Evert, who was, in the future, talking to Lara - pulled out the sword and vanished to supposedly Avalon. Lara, then alone, walked to Kathmandu, to escape the horrors of the plane crash. When she arrived in Katmandu she went to the nearest bar and made a polite telephone call to her father asking if it would be convenient for him to come and pick her up.

After the loss of her mother, Lara received private tutoring, part of it from her father, who took her on some of his expeditions.

For six years following the plane crash, Lara rarely left her father's side, traveling around the world from one archaeological dig site to another. During this period she was ostensibly given a standard education from private tutors, but it would probably be more accurate to say she was her father's full time apprentice.

Lara suffered another tragic loss at the age of 17, her father went missing in Cambodia. Extensive searches by the authorities and Lara herself turned up human remains that could not definitively be identified. Since Lord Croft's body was not officially recovered, Lara could not directly inherit the Croft title and was thrust into a bitter family feud over control of the Abbingdon estates with her uncle Lord Errol Croft. Lara eventually won the legal battle and took possession of her inheritance, including the title of Countess of Abbingdon which she inherited from her father and became 11th Countess of Abbingdon, but at the cost of a deep rift in the Croft family that left her estranged from her living relatives.

Search for the Scion[]

Main article: Tomb Raider: Anniversary

In Calcutta, Lara Croft is approached by Larson, who introduces her to Jacqueline Natla, who wishes Lara to find a piece of an artefact called the Scion, located in the Peruvian mountains. Lara, having searched unsuccessfully for such an artifact with her father in the past, agrees to go.

In the Peruvian mountains, Lara finds a tomb belonging to the Atlantean king Qualopec. She discovers that he was one of three Kings (the Triumvirate) who ruled Atlantis before it sank. Lara leaves with a piece of the three-part Scion, but notices movement from what had appeared to be a statue of Qualopec before the tomb collapses. Shortly after, Lara is confronted by Larson, who attempts to take the Scion piece from her. After knocking him out, she discovers that Natla has sent Pierre Dupont, another archaeologist, to find the next piece. Lara breaks into Natla's office and finds evidence that the next piece of the Scion is located in St Francis' Folly in Greece.

Lara departs to Greece, and finds the second piece of the Scion in the depths of a tomb. While Lara studies the empty coffin of Tihocan, the second member of the Triumvirate, Pierre ambushes Lara, forcing her at gun point to give up her piece of the Scion. After Pierre takes the piece Lara tries to take him by surprise but he escapes with the Scion piece in hand, only to be killed by guardian centaurs outside of the tomb. After defeating the centaurs, and joining both pieces of the Scion, Lara sees a vision,and it reveals the location of the third and final piece of the Scion: Egypt.

Lara travels to Egypt, and successfully retrieves the third piece of the Scion. After assembling all three pieces, Lara's earlier vision becomes much clearer. In Lara's visions two of the three Kings, Tihocan and Qualopec, are sentencing the third one, revealed to be Natla, to imprisonment. Natla, after releasing Atlantis' own army against itself in an attempt to bring about what she refers to as the Seventh Age, is imprisoned in the crystalline structure for a thousand years.

With Lara in a trance, Natla steals the Scion and has Lara restrained by her three henchmen. Lara escapes and follows the departing Natla on a motorbike, managing to sneak onto Natla's departing boat. Lara follows Natla into a desolate mine and kills Larson when he tries to stop her. Visibly shaken, Lara then confronts Kold and Kid, who end up killing each other in the skirmish. Lara then travels to the top of the Atlantean pyramid and confronts Natla.

Not long into the confrontation with Natla, Lara realizes that Natla's plan is to resurrect the army of Atlantis. Natla attempts to convince Lara to stop opposing her and become immortal like her. Lara destroys Scion instead and is then tackled by Natla, who falls into the lava while Lara uses her grappling hook to survive. Lara, thinking Natla dead, tries to escape, being confronted by a giant mutant along the way. She is soon confronted by an angry Natla, severely burnt, but unimpeded in ability. After a confrontation, Lara collapses a pillar supporting the pyramid onto Natla, trapping her under the collapsing pyramid. Lara escapes and sails away in Natla's boat.

Hiring Help[]

Some time later, Lara hires Zip as tech support and Alister Fletcher as a research assistant. Renovating part of the main hall to serve as Zip's office. Additionally, Zip provides Lara with new gadgets such as her grapple gun, field camera, enhanced binoculars and custom PDA. Alister provides Lara with field support, giving her information via radio.

Seeking Excalibur[]

Lara3
Main article: Tomb Raider: Legend

Lara Croft is telephoned by Paraíso based friend Anaya Imanu who informs a Stone Dais has been discovered in Tiwanaku, Bolivia. Lara remembers to when she was nine years old, following the plane crash in Nepal which left only her and her mother Amelia alive.

While searching for firewood, Lara discovered a hidden temple in the Himalayas, containing an ornate Stone Dais which she accidentally activated, forming a large portal. An unknown prescence spoke to Amelia, who tried to tell it they meant no harm. However, something said through the portal causes Amelia to cry out, "Oh God, no!" and grab the Dais, which then explodes. When the smoke cleared, the Dais was destroyed and Amelia had vanished -- this was the last day Lara ever saw her mother.

Lara comes across mercenaries patrolling the interior ruins of a few minor Tiwanaku Temples. After dealing with the intruders, she eventually comes to the central chamber, still intact and untouched, containing a Stone Dais, just like the one in Nepal so many years ago.

Lara is then interrupted by James Rutland, who apparently commands the mercenaries who were trying to impede her progress James, in a conversation, shows Lara a piece of a sword and mentions her friend Amanda Evert, who was believed to have perished, along with several other college friends, in an incident at a dig site in Paraíso.

Lara, following this, decides to go to Paraíso and return to the dig site. Lara organizes for Anaya to meet her in Paraíso and the two rendezvous at the Statue in the Paraíso Market Place. However, James Rutland's Mercenaries ambush them. Anaya takes off in her jeep, chased by the mercenaries, but Lara catches up on a motorcycle and eliminates the pursuers. Lara then boards Anaya's jeep and the two proceed to the dig site.

Lara recounts what happened to her, Amanda and their college friends at the dig site: while investigating the ruins, an Unknown Entity was released from an artifact there, and began slaughtering the dig team. Although Amanda managed to stop its rampage by dislodging the Wraith Stone that controlled it, but this also caused the ruins to start collapsing, trapping Amanda under the debris and leaving Lara the only apparent survivor to escape. In the present day, Lara re-enters the ruins through a watery passage into the dig site and uncover what really happened. Upon discovering that Amanda may not have died, Lara ventures deeper into the ruins and discovers glyphs which tell the story of the Queen of Tiwanaku, who led her people using a powerful weapon that Lara deduces is actually Excalibur itself, though the blade has long since been fragmented and scattered across the world. Realizing that Rutland intends to gather the fragments, Lara resolves to find them first and stop his plans for the ancient, powerful weapon.

Lara then travels to Japan to meet a yakuza leader, Takamoto, to find the next Excalibur fragment. Takamoto refuses to give the artifact to Lara, and runs away, but Lara chases him. After a long fight between the two, Lara defeats Takamoto and takes the fragment, discovering that whoever wields it is granted certain powers.

Lara goes to Ghana, for the next fragment, only to find out that James Rutland already has it. After another fight, Lara takes the fragment and travels to Siberia for the hilt of Excalibur. She discovers that Amanda is there, investigating the ruins of a Russian laboratory which was studying the the fragments. Amanda reveals that she is working with Rutland and already has the hilt in her possession, and furthermore has control of the Unknown Entity that killed their colleagues in Paraíso, which she orders to attack Lara. Lara manages to escape the Entity, escaping the laboratory with the hilt.

Lara is told by Zip that the next piece of the sword is probably in Cornwall, England, They travel to a dilapidated tourist attraction that is claimed to sit on the final resting place of King Arthur. Searching the premises, Lara discovers that King Arthur's Tomb is in fact there, the entrance to which is hidden behind a fake burial chamber to throw off suspicion. Lara makes her way to King Arthur's Tomb, battling a giant Sea Serpent on the way. She takes the piece but discovers that Rutland's mercenaries captured Zip, she hurries to save him, narrowly evading the Serpent again

Seeking the last two fragments, Lara returns to Nepal. Retracing her steps to find the hidden temple, she locates the fragments: one being the necklace Lara's father gave to her mother, and the other being in the Stone Dais her mother disappeared at. With all the fragments gathered, Lara re-forms Excalibur and returns to the intact Stone Dais in Bolivia, finding James and Amanda together. Lara kills James, but Amanda fuses with the Unknown Entity to become a powerful Wraith, which Lara battles and defeats. Lara then activates the Stone Dais, creating a portal to the past. It is revealed that the prescence which Amelia Croft spoke to in Nepal was none other than Amanda and Lara herself. Lara tries to communicate with her mother, telling her not to remove the sword as Amelia had done in the past, but Amanda suddenly shouts that the Dais will explode if the sword is not removed, causing Amelia to panic and grab it; this transports her to an unknown location before the Daises--both in past and present--self-destruct.

Lara is enraged, having blamed herself for what happened to her mother, but Amanda had truly been at fault. Lara demands to know what happened to her mother, threatening to kill Amanda if she doesn't tell her. Amanda states that her mother is alive, having been transported to Avalon by the Dais. Lara knocks Amanda out and leaves, resolved to find her mother and rescue her from Avalon.

Hunt For Helheim[]

Main article: Tomb Raider: Underworld

Lara is searching for Avalon, hoping it will lead her to an explanation for the disappearance of her long lost mother. Underneath the Mediterranean Sea, Lara discovers an ancient temple designating itself as "Niflheim", one of the many Norse underworlds. Deep within, she recovers one of Thor's gauntlets, after a lengthy battle with Amanda's mercenaries and an encounter with an imprisoned Jacqueline Natla on Amanda's ship. Natla tells Lara that the Norse underworld, Helheim, and Avalon, the afterlife of Arthurian legend, are one and the same and that she will need to find Mjolnir, Thor's legendary hammer, if she intends to locate and rescue her mother. Lara also discovers that she will have to find Thor's other gauntlet and his belt if she wants to find and wield Mjolnir. Natla provides Lara with a starting point for her search in this quest – coastal Thailand. After sabotaging and destroying Amanda's ship--in the process releasing Natla--Lara embarks to Thailand.

In Thailand, Lara doesn't locate the next gauntlet, but she finds evidence that her father had found it there and removed it before he died. She also discovers a message that reveals that her father and Natla had been working together at some point and that the relationship had not ended well. Lara ponders for a moment why her father would have signed the messaged with his full name, Richard James Croft, as that had always been how his own father addressed himself. Lara realises where her father hid the missing gauntlet and heads home.

Back at the Croft Manor Lara heads into the Croft family crypt, and finds a switch on her grandfather's grave, which leads to a secret passage. Lara follows the passage and discovers her father's secret office, and within it, Thor's second gauntlet. On her way back, the passageway is rocked by a massive explosion, and the house is engulfed in flames. Reaching the main hall. Zip tries to shoot Lara and claims that she detonated the bomb, after using the retinal scanner to open the safe. When Lara heads to the burning security office to review the security footage, she encounters her doppelgänger who shoots Allister, and effortlessly bests her in hand to had combat before escaping. Lara tries to tend to Alister, but he dies after telling her that he would see her in Avalon.

Lara takes Alister's body outside to a waiting Zip and Winston, who had witnessed the Dopplganger escape, and demand to know what is happening. Lara explains that she had encountered such a creature years only once before on Natla's secret island, meaning Natla was to blame. Lara tells them that she is heading to Mexico to find Thor's belt. Zip is enraged that Lara is continuing her quest, but Lara assures him that she needs the belt to wield Mjolnir, and Mjolnir would be needed to kill Natla and avenge Alister.

In Mexico, Lara finds both Thor's Belt and some ancient pictographs linking the weapon in Helheim to Jörmungandr, a mythical Norse sea-serpent, brought about by the seventh age. Her next stop are ruins on Jan Mayen Island that correlate to Valhalla. It is here that Lara finally recovers Thor's Hammer. In the meantime, Zip has managed to track Amanda down to a sister-ship of the one Lara sank earlier. Armed with Mjolnir, Lara boards the vessel and interrogates Natla once again. Natla provides Lara with the coordinates of Helheim, but points out that Lara does not know the Ritual of Odin, which is needed to open its gates, so Lara reluctantly strikes a bargain with Natla and frees her from her cell.

They rendezvous in the outer chambers of the Helheim complex, deep below the Arctic Sea. With the ritual performed, Lara is able to use Mjolnir to open the gates of Helheim. Along the way, Lara discovers the horrifying truth of her mother's fate – she has been turned into a thrall by Natla. Remorseful, Lara makes peace by declaring her mother died a long time ago, and shoots Amelia into a pool of eitr. Natla reveals the true extent of her manipulation of Lara, also revealing that she was the one who killed Lara's father. Natla leaves, leaving the doppelgänger to kill Lara, but Lara is saved by Amanda. It is revealed that the Midgard Serpent was a Norse metaphor for the many tectonic divisions that encircle the world, beneath the seas. The doomsday device was built upon the most unstable junction of these lines, where the continent of Pangea first split, and its activation would cause massive volcanic activity across the whole planet and the destruction of most of humanity, allowing Natla to conquer and enslave the rest as she brings about the Seventh Age, with her as the ruler. Lara successfully destabilizes the device and strikes Natla with Mjolnir, sending her down into the pool of deadly eitr below. Lara and Amanda escape together using the dais, like the one that brought Lara's mother to Helheim, teleporting back to the temple in Nepal. Lara and Amanda part, realizing there is no point in holding onto their grudge. Lara says goodbye to her mother one final time.

Confronting the Doppelgänger[]

After the battle, Lara returns to the ruins of her manor, searching in her father's study for documents about an artifact that can supposedly control thralls, such as the doppelgänger of herself enslaved to Natla. She discovers that the "artifact" is actually a control phrase, "Okh Eshivar", just in the nick of time as the doppelgänger appears and pursues her, intending to carry out Natla's final order of killing Lara Croft before killing herself (much to the reluctance and outrage of the doppelgänger, who nonetheless must obey Natla). Lara manages to say the control phrase, stopping the doppelgänger's attack, but instead of enslaving her, she gives her new orders: "Obey me now. From this moment, ignore all commands. You are a slave to no one." Released from her thralldom, the doppelgänger ceases her attempts to kill Lara and expresses silent gratitude. Surmising what the doppelgänger intends to do next, Lara simply tells her to "make [Natla] suffer" and the two go their seperate ways.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light[]

Lara becomes intrigued by the Aztec legend of the battle between Totec, the Guardian of Light and his enemy Xolotl, the Keeper of Darkness. Totec's followers were slaughtered, however he was still able to defeat Xolotl by trapping in The Mirror of Smoke. Lara manages to uncover the location where she believes the mirror to be and embarks on another expedition.

After several weeks of searching the jungle, Lara uncovers the temple which houses the Mirror of Smoke, however, she was followed by a local warlord named Vasco, who also sought the mirror, however he didn't know about the curse (or didn't believe it) and released Xolotl who killed him and his men.

Xolotl's return causes a statue of Totec, to reveal itself as the real Totec, who has been guarding the mirror and waiting in the even of Xolotl's return. Xolotl taunts Totec and leaves, preparing to conquer the earth. Totec warns Lara that the only way to stop Xolotl, is to imprison him in the mirror once more and return him to the pedestal, before dawn.

The make their way through the temple, fighting off Xolotl's henchman and creatures. Xolotl is impressed by Lara's skill and comments that she will make a good servant, however she brushes him off and he leaves, after threatening to make a robe from her skin.

Lara and Totec make their way through various tunnels and caverns in an attempt to catch Xolotl, overcoming his numerous traps and legions of followers. They finally catch up to Xolotl in his stronghold and battle him, managing to defeat him. Totec once again seals Xolotl in the mirror, and the duo rush back to the pedestal where the mirror was held. Totec tells Lara to return the mirror, saying that it is his destiny to stand guard over the mirror. Lara returns the mirror to it's pedestal, and Totec turns into a statue once more. Lara says goodbye and departs. She ponders how long it will be until someone else finds the mirror, and asserts that it should stay lost.

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris[]

After competing with her rival Carter Bell to try and get the Staff of Osiris from a tomb in Egypt, they release the god Set from its imprisonment. They both get marked with his sign causing the goddess Ahmet to hunt them down. Teaming up with the gods Isis and Horus they finally manage to reimprison Set back to the underworld, which also released them from their markings.

Abilities[]

  • Peak Human Condition: Lara is shown to possess abilities far beyond that of even a peak human being.
    • Peak Human Speed and Agility: Lara is known for being extremely fast and agile.
    • Peak Human Strength: Lara is incredibly strong and powerful. She can lift and push boulders that weigh a several dozen tons with no effort at all. She has enough leg strength to jump several meters in the air and several meters across and could likely jump even greater distances.
  • Master Acrobat: She is extremely athletic, using her Olympic gymnast like acrobatics to scale tall structures and can perform flips and somersaults after jumping several meters in the air. She has excellent balance and coordination, as she regularly lands on thin ledges, sometimes with her hands.
  • High-Level Intelligence: Lara is also extremely intelligent. She possesses a fantastical amount of knowledge relating to ancient civilizations, cultures, creatures and artifacts, many of which she discovered by herself in her comparatively short time as treasure hunter. Her resourcefulness and superior intellect has always been a key factor in searching for untold riches beyond human comprehension.
  • Expert Markswoman:Like the original Timeline, Lara is a very talented markswoman. Lara's main weapons are her dual Pistols. However she is very capable of using, Shotguns, Assault Rifles, Submachine Guns and Spear Guns.
  • Expert Combatant: Combined with her gymnastics and marksmanship, Lara makes an exceptionally skilled martial artist and combatant, usually managing to take down multiple enemies effortlessly.
  • Multilingualism: Lara is a versed polyglot in a variety of languages, being able to speak, understand and read English, Japanese and Russian among many others.

Personality[]

Although Lara is very serious about her job, it doesn't stop her from being quite sarcastic and quick with witty remarks. Lara is also quite reckless, often and intentionally "forgetting" safety equipment for mountain climbing.

Initially, Lara does not wish to kill anyone, and is saddened by the loss of human life, especially after killing Larson, Her first Human kill. However as the timeline progressed, she becomes much more willing to kill in order to defend herself, and even takes on some vengeful tendencies.

Despite these traits, Lara has a vulnerable side of her where she's kind and compassionate but she's also stubborn, headstrong, determined, and fearless. Lara is also extremely intelligent and level headed, usually remained calm, even in the most dangerous situations.

Discoveries[]

Portrayal[]

Keeley Hawes voiced Lara for most of the continuity Legend, Anniversary and Underworld along with Beneath the Ashes and Lara's Shadow, as well as the two spin off games, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. Abigail Stahlschmidt voiced Lara in Lara Croft: Relic Run.

Charlotte Sparey provides Lara's voice as a child.

Models[]

Lara was portrayed by two models for marketing purposes.

Appearances[]

Legend[]

Anniversary[]

Underworld[]

DLC Levels[]

Trivia[]

  • This version is a composite of the Original Timeline and Top Cow's Comic Book Timeline, taking inspiration from both.
  • Due to the spin-off titles such as Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, this is the first time where two separate timelines are still being developed; as Temple Of Osiris takes place in the Legend Timeline and was released after Tomb Raider (2013), which started a new timeline.

Gallery[]

References[]

Advertisement