u/HazyAffect

Carmen Sandiego and Lara Croft [Classic Adaptation]

Carmen Sandiego and Lara Croft [Unified Adaptation]

Hello Everyone, this is a theory and framework I brainstormed while I was thinking of how Society of Raiders can actually be a great tool to bridge the classic adaptation of Lara Croft with the unified adaptation.

Apologies for the long post, it’s a lot of ideas!

Who is Carmen Sandiego?

During the 90s, there was a popular female character that went from video games to a TV Show. Carmen Sandiego was a thief and an agent that traveled around the world to steal artifacts for her organization called V.I.L.E. There was a rival organization called ACME consisting of “good” agents that want to capture her and return the artifacts where they belong. Carmen was a villain protagonist with clear intentions of wanting to steal the artifacts and it was shown that. 

As of the 2010s, the character received a reboot that showed Carmen Sandiego’s origin stories of actually being taken by V.I.L.E as a child to be raised as a bad character and a thief. However, she escapes eventually and ends up being founded by ACME and is told to return the artifacts back to their rightful owners. However, down the line, she realizes that ACME has a double agenda of their own. 

Personally, while the original adaptation of Carmen Sandiego is iconic and a classic depiction, I enjoyed the Netflix reboot and the storytelling was really good and gave a lot of depth to the character. 

Lara Croft as an Anti Hero 

Carmen Sandiego ironically mirrors Lara Croft. Lara could be seen as an anti-hero in the classic era that as a consequence saved the world. However, her intention all along was to raid tombs and preserve the artifacts in her Manor in a secret place. She played for sport. 

However, it wasn’t until she caused an apocalypse and her near-death experience in Tomb Raider: Last Revelation and Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, that she realized there is consequences to her actions. 

After Lara Croft was rebooted and her origin story was changed. The unification concept is a way to introduce the classic adventures back to Lara Croft while retaining the origin story of the reboot.

How can Society of Raiders work?

[Note: Some of these ideas are inspired by various discussions I have observed in the past while reading fan spaces (Tomb Raider Forums and this subreddit). An example would be the theory that the canceled Underworld DLC3 is inspiring Catalyst's plot and the connection between Trinity and Natla]

I think Society of Raiders is a perfect way to introduce the classic adventures into a modern era while expanding the story since creating a cinematic experience is vital for a major AAA release. 

Lara Croft, after Shadow of the Tomb Raider, decides to take her life less seriously. She meets other adventurers on the way such as Pierre, Larson, and Amanda. 

They inform her of this society Lara can join where Raiders across the world defeat enemies and return artifacts to where they belong and not fall into the wrong hands. They applaud her for the success of defeating Trinity and stopping their plans. 

They tell her to meet in Calcutta for Jaqueline Natla, as she is trying to return the Scions back before it’s too late. 

Eventually, Lara throughout her adventure, realizes that all four of them (Lara, Larson, Pierre, and Amanda) are competing for Natla’s approval and that they are all puppets in a play. 

Lara is singled out and realizes the plan too late while the others either are defeated and Amanda teams up with Natla. 

Lara Croft eventually learns here that Trinity were the ones that set the explosion that freed Natla in 1940s and that they are an ancient group of cultists created by Natla back during Atlantis times and that they kept her safe after freeing her. Throughout different historical events in history, Trinity was terrorizing places and seeking immortality. In Rise, they were around since the time of the prophet searching for divine source. In shadow, Andre Lopes went to so much lengths hundreds of years back to hide the Silver box from Trinity.

Tihocan could still be alive judging by how his tomb was empty in Anniversary. He could help Lara down the line or maybe an enemy in the future.

Natla eventually tells both Lara and Amanda that their necklaces are supernatural artifacts that made them survive this far and that they are both holding Atlantean technology and should join her as the three rulers of Atlantis. Lara does not fall for this as she remembers how Natla betrayed the ancient rulers of Atlantis .

By the end of Legacy of Atlantis, after Lara defeats Natla and destroys Atlantis. We see Amanda escaping in her ship while in the Mediterranean Sea and rescuing Natla and the Doppelgänger as she took Lara’s betrayal to heart. This can explain the plot hole in Underworld about how they all teamed up against Lara.

For Catalyst, there will be a major catastrophe that will make all of Lara’s rivals that she made in the Society of Raiders (Amanda and maybe Larson or Pierre if they are still alive) come together to defeat an enemy. Similar to the canceled DLC3 from Underworld, Lara dies as a sacrifice to save the world but we eventually realize it was the Doppelgänger and Lara is actually alive.

Personally, I feel like Catalyst will be my favorite Tomb Raider game and will have a "farewell/hero" type of storytelling theme, similar to the ending in Underworld as Lara gains closure over something in her life.

Also, so far they nailed it with the unification when it comes to Lara Croft in Catalyst, she really resembles the TR1996 Menu Screen in my opinion.

Lara Croft [Classic vs. Unified Adaptation]

My Personal Prediction for the Future of the Franchise 

I do see us getting more remakes in the future, I think similar to how Resident Evil started from 2017 to release new games and re-makes. For the Tomb Raider franchise, this framework will probably kickstart this in 2026 and will go on until the next 10 to 15 years. 

The re-makes will probably explain the events between Legacy of Atlantis and Catalyst, as well as bring more lore for the characters we may eventually see in Catalyst and Lara's encounters with other members of Society of Raiders over the years.

I personally am going by the elements mentioned in the recent Sacred Artifacts comic book as an indicator of what will be prioritized in the unified timeline. Personally, I definitely see Tomb Raider 2 and Legend/Underworld being remade for sure. This creates a trilogy of games including Legacy of Atlantis that will be intertwined together, we will see more about the Doppelgänger, Tihocan or other rulers of Atlantis, and maybe other characters or unexplored events crucial for Catalyst's story.

However, it's best to wait until the official book "Chronicles of the Tomb Raider" to come out to get a better picture of Crystal Dynamic's plan. As well as any easter eggs that will be in Legacy of Atlantis.