Lara Croft

Lara Croft first appeared in *Tomb Raider*, a 1996 video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. Created by Toby Gard, she became the series’ central character: a British archaeologist and adventurer who explores ancient sites while pursuing artifacts and uncovering their histories. Her debut adventure begins when businesswoman Jacqueline Natla hires her to recover a piece of the Scion from a tomb in Peru. Lara’s search leads through Greece and Egypt before she discovers that Natla has her own connection to Atlantis and intends to use the completed artifact.

The character’s history has been retold across several game continuities. In Core Design’s original series, Lara returned in *Tomb Raider II* (1997) to seek the Dagger of Xian, an artifact tied to a Chinese legend. In *Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation* (1999), her attempt to retrieve the Amulet of Horus releases the Egyptian god Set. That game ends with Lara trapped beneath a collapsing temple, leaving her fate uncertain until the later events of *Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness* (2003).

Crystal Dynamics took over the series with *Tomb Raider: Legend* (2006), which gave Lara a different family history. While investigating the sword Excalibur, she pursues clues about her mother Amelia, who disappeared through a portal after a plane crash in Nepal. *Tomb Raider: Underworld* (2008) continues that story, taking Lara to the Norse underworld of Helheim. There she finds Amelia, but not the reunion she had hoped for: her mother has become a hostile thrall.

A second major reboot begins with *Tomb Raider* (2013). This younger Lara survives the wreck of the *Endurance* on Yamatai, where she confronts a cult devoted to the ancient queen Himiko. In *Rise of the Tomb Raider* (2015), she travels to Siberia in search of the Divine Source and the lost city of Kitezh while the organization Trinity pursues the same discovery. *Shadow of the Tomb Raider* (2018) sends her from Cozumel to the hidden city of Paititi after she takes a dagger that triggers a catastrophic chain of events.

Lara has also appeared beyond games. Angelina Jolie portrayed her in *Lara Croft: Tomb Raider* (2001) and its 2003 sequel, *The Cradle of Life*. Alicia Vikander played a version based on the reboot era in the 2018 film *Tomb Raider*. Across these adaptations, her adventures change, but the specific tombs, artifacts and consequences of seeking them remain at the center of her stories.