Doppelgänger (Original Timeline)

Within the Tomb Raider series there have been two doppelgängers of Lara Croft (featured in Tomb Raider/Tomb Raider: Anniversary, and Tomb Raider: Underworld).

First Encounters
So far there have been two doppelgängers of Lara, both of them had their very own first encounters throughout the course of the game series.

The first Doppelgänger
The first doppelgänger to be encountered was in Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider: Anniversary, found in 'The Great Pyramid.' Its appearance was of a skinless human with no hair, causing fans to dub it 'Bacon Lara.' The creature seemed to have very limited intelligence, as it was only able to mimic Lara's every movement. While it did not attack directly, shooting it caused damage to Lara herself. Lara was eventually able to trick it into jumping into a pit of molten lava, destroying it. It is hypothesized that this doppelgänger was just an Atlantean creature copying Lara's every move because it did not have a motive. However, its appearance in Tomb Raider: Anniversary, as well as an entry in Lara's journal in Tomb Raider: Underworld contradict this.

The second Doppelgänger


The second doppelgänger appeared in Tomb Raider: Underworld. It was created by Natla and Amanda Evert, and unlike the first version is easily able to pass for human. Mentally, the doppelgänger appears to be very much like Lara herself, sharing a similar personality and intellect; the main difference is her compulsion to follow the orders of anyone who knows the proper command word. In physical terms, the doppelgänger is far superior to Lara, possessing far greater speed, strength, and agility. While nearly identical to the real Lara, the doppelgänger does have some visible differences, the most notable of which are her glowing gold eyes and her red hair. Her overall appearance is closer to that of Lara's traditional Tomb Raider character model, with red hair, brown lips, and a hairstyle similar to that seen in Tomb Raider 2.

During the course of Tomb Raider: Underworld, the doppelgänger is ordered to place a bomb in Croft Manor, which ultimately destroys the mansion. Zip, unable to tell the difference, later opens fire on the real Lara, believing that the bomb was her doing. Lara returns to the burning main hall to check the security cameras, where she encounters the doppelgänger face to face. She attempts to manipulate its behavior as she did the first doppelgänger, but it only plays along for a few moments before murdering Alister and fleeing the manor. They later meet again in Helheim, but their encounter is cut short by Amanda.

In the DLC Lara's Shadow, the doppelgänger--still under Natla's control--retrieves Natla from Helheim and returns her to Atlantis in order to heal her. Once stabilized, Natla orders the doppelgänger to kill Lara, then herself. In the meantime however, Lara had learned the command necessary to control her, and uses it to stop the doppelganger in her tracks when she arrives. After a brief conversation, in which Lara questions the doppelgänger regarding her nature, Lara sets her free of Natla's control, and in return tells her to "make sure Natla suffers." All too happy to cooperate with Lara, the doppelgänger returns to her birthplace, destroys Natla's regeneration chamber, and watches with a smile as Natla herself drowns in a pool of eitr.

Fate of the Doppelgängers
The fate of the doppelgänger and its whereabouts afterward are unknown.

It is most likely that the first doppelgänger might be dead after the explosion that occurred at The Great Pyramid.

Trivia

 * In Tomb Raider, the doppelgänger looked nothing like Lara; it was extremely thin, had large alien eyes and a human looking flat chest making it seem like it was male.
 * In Tomb Raider Anniversary and Underworld , the doppelgängers looked more human, and looked more like Lara Croft.
 * One of the doppelgängers appears as a costume for Lara in Tomb Raider Anniversary, while the other one is available in Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.
 * The term "doppelgänger" is a German word meaning "double or lookalike"
 * In mythology, a family or friend seeing a person's doppelgänger would mean illness or danger. Whereas one seeing their own doppelgänger would mean death.

Doppelganger Двойник