This is the End: Teen Wolf

As a fan and collector there are some items that are an easy hole to fill.  The Cape, one season 10 episodes, buy the DVD done. A single movie like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow similarly easy to complete the search. An ebook megapack might get the complete works of Edgar Wallace or H. Rider Haggard for 99c.

Others take a bit more work I own and have read all 135 JT Edson novels, I own all seven seasons of MacGyver, the two TV movies, the novel (which I got Richard Dean Anderson to autograph) and the 2012 five issue comic book miniseries.  And I've watched all the episodes of the 2016 revival.

It takes time and dedication.  Recently I've realised that I've had three things that were nearly completed or caught up on so once I'd finished them I thought I'd share my thoughts on those things.

First we have Teen Wolf.  Loosely based on the 1985 Michael J. Fox movie of the same name. (The 1985 movie spawned an animated series and a sequel Teen Wolf Too starring Jason Bateman as the cousin of the original).

The only thing this new version took was a teenager named Scott whose best friend is named Stiles and is a werewolf.  Instead of Scott Howard we have Scott McCall. 

McCall played by Tyler Posey (who was nearly Jacob in The Twilight movies) is a teen bitten by an Alpha werewolf.  The big mystery of the first series is who is the Alpha? The series was darker and scarier version yet it still had comedy.  Dylan O'Brien was the MVP of this series always there to help his friend Scott with a quip and some great physical acting.

The series kept me on the edge of my seat for 100 episodes, a Tie in novel and a three issue miniseries. 

Characters came and went Scott grew eventually becoming a true Alpha through his own strength of character.

The show played with mythology bringing in kanemas, chimeras, the wild hunt, were jaguars, kitsunes, banshees, were coyotes and skin walkers.  I was pleasantly surprised that the werewolf/vampire war seen in several other shows never got played out here.

I can't complain about the ending as it was left open for a spinoff starring Scott's beta Liam (Scott bit him to save his life) or a follow up series set a few years later.

I'm fully expecting Dylan O'Brien to have a great career after this show.   

Loved the show

Tomb Raider Timeline

Firstly the intention of this timeline is to work much of the Tomb Raider Franchise into one cohesive timeline.  I am limiting this to event in Lara Croft’s life so no expansions on the history of the artefacts she finds.  I am working on the assumption that the new “Survivor” game continuity is a prequel to the earlier games and that the “Legend” games are also part of this continuity.   Any speculation on my part to explain any discrepancies will be clearly indicated.

There have been three games called Tomb Raider the 1996 original, the 2000 Gameboy game and the 2013 reboot.  I will be referring to the games as Tomb Raider followed by their year.

Other adventures will be referred to by their subtitles as we know they are Tomb Raider products.  I will also be referring to the source for each entry and the media type (So the novel Tomb Raider: The Lost Cult will be referred to as The Lost Cult (novel))

I won’t be including fan productions as much as I have enjoyed many of them. I also won’t incorporating references to Lara Croft (in Rob Hayes Adventures Rob tells a female friend she is not Lara Croft) or characters dressing as Lara Croft (Ally McBeal, Looney Tunes, Dexter, How I met Your Mother.) The holographic projection of Lara in an episode of Totally Spies is also excluded.

I’m excluding advertisements that treat Tomb Raider as just a game for example one of the later Lucozade commercials has Lara drinking a Lucozade while the game is paused. 

Timeline

14 Feb 1968 (Core Design Bio)

Lara Croft born to Lord Richard Croft and Amelia Croft (Legend - Game)

1971 - 1979

Private Tutoring 3-11 (Core Design Bio)

1977

Lady Amelia Croft and Lara are in a plane crash.  Amelia disappears and Lara walks out (Legend –game)

1979 - 1984

Wimbledon High School for Girls 11-16 (Core Bio)

1980

“Pre-Teen Raider” (Re/Visioned animation) (Gail Simone advises that Lara is about 12)

 

 1984

Training with Von Croy in Ankor Wat (The Last Revelation –Game)

“Black Isle” (Chronicles Game)

1985

Lord Richard Croft dies (differing accounts are given in Rise of the Tomb Raider– Game, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – Movie and Legend –Game)

Speculation Lara is adopted by her uncle Lord Henshingly Croft and his wife.  Neither are fans of Lara adventuring and try to mould her into a proper lady. The adoption explains why in 1996 her father is listed as Henshingly Croft in the first game.

1984-1987

Gordonstoun Boarding School 16-18

1987-1989

Swiss Finishing School 18-21

1989

21 yo Plane crash Lara is only survivor (Core Bio)

1990

Excavation Massacre (Legend – Game)

The Beginning (Dark Horse Comic)

Tomb Raider 2013 (game)

The Ten Thousand Immortals (novel)

Season of the Witch (Dark Horse Comic 1-6)

1991

Secrets and Lies (Dark Horse Comic 7-12)

Queen of Snakes (Dark Horse Comic 13-18)

1992

Rise of the Tomb Raider (Game)

Baba Yaga The Temple of the Witch (Rise expansion – Game)

Cold Darkness Awakened (Rise Expansion – Game)

Blood Ties (Rise Expansion – Game)

Lara’s Nightmare (Rise Expansion – Game)

Spore (Dark Horse Comic 1-6) (Spore features a 1996 flashback this must be a 1976 flashback)

Trial and Sacrifice (Dark Horse Comic 7-12)

1994

Finds Bigfoot (Tomb Raider 1996 – Game)

Finds Ark of the Covenant (Tomb Raider 1996 - Game)

1995

Philosopher’s Stone (Chronicles – Game)

1996

 Raider 1996 & Anniversary (Games)

Unfinished Business /Shadow of the Cat (Tomb Raider 1996 Expansion – Game)

1997

Tomb Raider II

Golden Mask (Tomb Raider II Expansion - Game)

Tomb Raider/Witchblade (Top Cow Comic)

Lucozade (commercials) (the last commercial is not counted)

 

 

PlayStation Commercial

“Tibet Air” (Short Story)

1998

PlayStation Commercial

Tomb Raider III

Lost Artefact (Tomb Raider III Expansion – Game)

Seat Cars (Commercials)

Spear of Destiny (Chronicles –Game)

Die Artze “Manner Sind Schweine” (Music video)

Tomb Raider 2000 (Game)

1999

“Hemos terminado con él” The Companeros (Spanish TV Episode)

Brigitte Magazine (Commercial) 

The Time’s Exclusive Bonus Level (Game)

The Last Revelation (Game)

Tomb Raider Chronicles (Framing Sequence – Game)

The Amulet of Power (Novel)

Origins (Top Cow One Shot)

Dark Aeons (Glenat Comic)

The Greatest Treasure of All (Top Cow One Shot)

Tomb Raider 0 (Top Cow Comic)

The Medusa Mask 1-4 Top Cow Comic)

2000

Merlin Stone 5-6 (Top Cow comic)

Dead Centre 7-10 (Top Cow Comic)

Chasing Shangri-La 11-12 (Top Cow Comic)

Dark Crossings (Top Cow One Shot)

Fathom 12-14 - the Resurrection of Taras (Top Cow Comic)

The Tomb Raider Technical Manual (Book)

2001

Merlin Stone 5-6 (Top Cow Comic)

Dead Centre 7-10 (Top Cow Comic)

Chasing Shangri-La 11-12 (Top Cow Comic)

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (Movie + Novelisation)

Curse of the Sword (Game)

Grim Reaper 13-15 (Top Cow Comic)

Pieces of Zero 16-17, 19-20 (Top Cow Comic)

Year of the Cat 18 (Top Cow Comic)

Tomb Raider/The Darkness (Top Cow Comic)

2002

The Prophecy (Game)

The Osiris Codex (Game)

The Quest for Cinnabar (Game)

The Elixir of Life (Game)

The Trap: The Path of The Tiger 21-23 (Top Cow Comic)

Medusa’s Garden 24 (Top Cow Comic)

Endgame 25 (Crossover with Witchblade/EVO) (Top Cow Comic)

Tomb Raider: Apocalypse (Game)

              The Eye of Osiris

              The Shadow Falls

              Armageddon

Journeys 1-12 (Top Cow Series)

2003

Abyss 26-28 (Top Cow Comic)

Strange Flesh 29-30 (Top Cow Comic)

Conquista 31 (Top Cow Comic)

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider The Cradle of Life (Movie + Novelisation)

Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness (Game)  (The Action Adventure/The Board Game/Flash Game versions and comic adaptation issues 32-34)

Epiphany (Top Cow comic One Shot)

G4 – (Commercial)

Visa - Monster Chase (Commercial)

Scarface’s Treasure (Top Cow comic One Shot)

Monster War (Top Cow comic One Shot)

2004

The Lost Cult (novel)

The Black Legion 35-37 (Top Cow Comic)

Bloodstone 38-39 (Top Cow Comic)

The Man of Bronze (novel)

Risen 40 (Top Cow Comic)

Spirit Walker 41-42 (Top Cow Comic)

Takeover (Top Cow comic One Shot)

Sphere of Influence (Top Cow comic One Shot)

Arabian Knights (Top Cow comic One Shot)

2005

Tower of Souls 43-44 (Top Cow Comic)

Inner Demons 45 (Top Cow Comic)

Gathering Storm 46-48 (Top Cow Comic)

Vendetta 49 (Top Cow Comic)

Alpha/Omega 50 (Top Cow Comic) In this comic Lara finds the Fountain of Youth and is seen adventuring into the far future.

2006

Legend (game)

The Reckoning (game)

Puzzle Paradox (Game)

2007

 

The Keys to the Kingdom (3 Parts) (Re/visioned Animation)

Revenge of the Aztec Mummy (Re/Visioned Animation)

Angel Spit (2 Parts)( Re/Visioned Animation)

Lara Croft Legacy (Re/Visioned Animation)

Raising Thermopolis (Re/Visioned Animation)

A Complicated Woman (Re/Visioned Animation)

2008

Tomb Raider Underworld (Game - also has a board game)

Beneath the Ashes (expansion Level)

Lara’s Shadow (expansion Level)

2010

Lara Croft and Guardian of Light (game)

2013

Lara Croft Reflections Card Game (Game)

2014

Lara Croft and Temple of Osiris (Game)

2015

Lara Croft Relic Run (game)

Lara Croft Go (Game)

Lara Croft and the Frozen Omen (comic)

2016

Lara Croft and the Blade of Gwynnever (novel)

 

TOMB RAIDER MEDIA ITEMS

Games (indented items are additional downloadable Levels)

The Core Series –Original Timeline

Tomb Raider 1996

Unfinished Business /Shadow of the Cat

Tomb Raider II 1997

Golden Mask

Tomb Raider III 1998

The Lost Artefact

Tomb Raider: The Times Exclusive 1999

Tomb Raider the Last Revelation 1999

The Tomb Raider Chronicles 2000

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness 2003 (The Action Adventure/The Board Game/Flash Game versions and comic adaptation)

Crystal Dynamics – Legend Reboot

Tomb Raider Legend 2006

Tomb Raider Anniversary 2007

Tomb Raider Underworld 2008

Beneath The Ashes

Lara’s Shadow

LARA CROFT and the Guardian of Light 2010

LARA CROFT and the Temple of Osiris 2015

Survivor Reboot

Tomb Raider 2013

Rise of the Tomb Raider 2015

Baba Yaga The Temple of the Witch

Cold Darkness Awakened

Blood Ties

Lara’s Nightmare

 

Gameboy Games

Tomb Raider 2000

Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword 2001

Tomb Raider: The Prophecy 2002

Interactive TV Games

Tomb Raider: Apocalypse 2002

              The Eye of Osiris

              The Shadow Falls

              Armageddon

Tomb Raider: The Reckoning 2006

Mobile Phone Games

Tomb Raider: The Osiris Codex 2003

Tomb Raider: The Quest for Cinnabar 2003

Tomb Raider: The Elixir of Life 2003

Tomb Raider: Puzzle Paradox 2006

Lara Croft Reflections 2014

Lara Croft Relic Run 2015

Lara Croft Go 2015

Board Games

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness 2003

Tomb Raider: Underworld 2009

DVD Game

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Action Adventure 2006 (adaptation of Angel of Darkness)

Flash Game

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness 2004

Books

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Tech manual by Michael Jan Friedman 2001

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Movie Novelisation by Dave Stern 2001

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life Novelisation by Dave Stern 2003

Tomb Raider The Amulet of Power by Mike Resnick 2003

Tomb Raider The Lost Cult by E.E. Knight 2004

Tomb Raider The Man of Bronze by James Alan Gardner 2005

The Ten Thousand Immortals by Dan Abnett & Nik Vincent 2014

The Blade of Gwynnver by Dan Abnett & Nik Vincent 2016

Short Stories

“Tibet Air”  in Lara’s Book: Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider Phenomenon by Douglas Coupland 1998

Movies

Lara Croft Tomb Raider 2001

Lara Croft Tomb Raider Cradle of Life 2003

TV

The Companeros “Hemos terminado con él” 1999   (tie in for Last Revelation)

Commercials

PlayStation 1997 & 1998

Lucozade 1998 & 2001

Seat Cars 1999

Brigitte Magazine 1999

Visa Monster Chase 2003

G4 2003

Video Clips

Die Artze “Manner Sind Schweine” 1998

Re/Visioned 2007

The Keys to the Kingdom (3 Parts)

Revenge of the Aztec Mummy (1 part)

Angel Spit (2 Parts)

Lara Croft Legacy

Pre Teen Raider (about 12)

Raising Thermopolis (after first Game)

A Complicated Woman

Comics

Glenat

Dark Aeons 1999

Top Cow

Tomb Raider Witchblade 1997

1999-2005

Tomb Raider 0

The Medusa Mask 1-4

Merlin Stone 5-6

Dead Centre 7-10

Chasing Shangri-La 11-12

Grim Reaper 13-15

Pieces of Zero 16-17, 19-20

Year of the Cat 18

The Trap: The Path of The Tiger 21-23

Medusa’s Garden 24

Endgame 25 (Crossover with Witchblade/EVO)

Abyss 26-28

Strange Flesh 29-30

Conquista 31

The Angel of Darkness 32-34 (Comic Adaptation of Game)

The Black Legion 35-37

Bloodstone 38-39

Risen 40

Spirit Walker 41-42

Tower of Souls 43-44

Inner Demons 45

Gathering Storm 46-48

Vendetta 49

Alpha/Omega 50

Tomb Raider Origins 2000

Dark Crossings 2000

Fathom the Resurrection of Taras  12-14 2000-2002

Tomb Raider The Darkness 2001

Tomb Raider Journeys 2001-2003

Scarface’s Treasure 2003

Epiphany 2003 (AOD tie-in)

Monster War 2003

Takeover 2004

Sphere of Influence 2004

Arabian Knights 2004

The Greatest Treasure of All 2005

Dark Horse

The Beginning 2013

Season of the Witch 1-6

Secrets and Lies 7-12

Queen of Serpents 13-18

Lara Croft and the Frozen Omen 1-5

Spore 1-6

Trials and Sacrifice 7-12

 

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A Few Thoughts on a Tomb Radier Timeline

Now I've been on a bit of a Tomb Raider jag lately - I got the 20th anniversary book which introduced me to a bunch of new stuff.. I also bought and read Lara Croft and the Blade of Gwynnever


There seems to be three different "series" or in the games
So the Classic series is the Games from Tomb Raider 1996 to Angel of Darkness (2003) that is the games by Core design.

The Legend series all the Games from Tomb Raider Legend and includes the new games that have been branded as Lara Croft.

The Survivor series are 2013 reboot and associated tie ins.

So I naturally wanted to see how it all fit together and I found these videos

Most videos tend to consider the Legend series a continuation of the Classic series without explaining why Lara's father's name changes from Lord Henshingly Croft to Lord Richard Croft, such as this one:

 

Others consider the Survivor series as prequels to the original games

 

Perhaps the most detailed is this video which includes the Tomb Raider novels:

 

 

Tomb Raider: A Line through Time and the addenda

I found these really interesting and I can see his reasoning for three different game continuities (Classic, Legend and Survivor) .  I have issues with the addendum which just states that each new thing is a new timeline so in a one minute video he creates several timelines - Movie, Top Cow, Journeys, Re/Visioned animated and a cameo on Totally Spies.

Looking just at the Angelina Jolie movies - The 4th Snake offers that the movie Lara's Date of birth is 17/4/1972  and then just states that he doesn't have a source for that "fact" but just runs with it.  Why use this?  Given that the Legend games use designs (Croft Manor) and history (Richard not Henshingly Croft) based on the movies and there is a large gap in his timeline with no adventures from 1996 until 2007 it would make sense to incorporate the 2001 and 2003 movies into that timeline.

The Top Cow Tomb Raider series is just mentioned as being on a sliding timescale but issues 32-34 adapt the Angel of Darkness game suggesting that they should be considered part of the Classic timeline.

Personally I like the idea that it's all a single timeline with the new games as prequels.  I also toyed with the idea that the Lara seen in the new games is the daughter of the original Lara.

My next post will be a Tomb Raider Timeline including a number of things that I haven't seen in other timelines.  I will be building on the information in the above videos and 20 years of Tomb Raider as well as Crossovers and Crossovers Expanded.

 

 

 



Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) starring Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight and Daniel Craig

Tomb Raider Poster

I remember back in 2001 being quite excited to see this in the cinema.  However, the ENTIRE 97 minute run time my wife payed out on Angelina's breasts.  There had been articles in the paper about how the star had a C cup and Lara Croft had a DD cup and they compromised with padding Jolie up to a D cup and my wife (and I'm pretty sure her sister was there too) nothing but comments about how fake the breasts looked.  Kinda took me out of the movie.

Fast forward a few years and I get the DVD and my wife and I watch the movie with one of her friends - if you guessed another 97 minutes commenting on Jolie's breasts, you'd be right.  So the other night I watched this on my own.

Each time, I've enjoyed the movie as an action adventure movie.  Had this been Indiana Jones and the Triangle of Light - I still would have enjoyed this.  It's not a great movie but it's fun.  Jolie sets up her action cred which allowed her to do films like Salt and Wanted.  The aerial ballet scene was a great set piece showing us Lara using her brains and athleticism to take down a number of heavily armed intruders intent on stealing the mystical McGuffin she's found.  Because Jolie did a lot of her own stunt work I believed in her as Lara Croft - perhaps slightly more Goth version with black hair and outfits but it worked. 

I was intrigued by the idea that some of these artefacts can only be accessed during planetary alignments - because magic?  Which meant that Lara was literally racing against time as the next alignment wouldn't come for another 5000 years -  however at one point had Lara let them make the error they were going to make it would have solved her problems but wouldn't have made for much of a movie.  I could nit pick more but those things came after the movie was finished and I was following along the adventure as Lara proves herself smarter that the Illuminati and their henchmen.

I also enjoyed Christopher Barrie's Hillary the butler and Noah Taylor's techie Bryce.  Both offered support and light relief to the movie and I especially enjoyed Hillary's donning bulletproof vest and slippers while loading the shotgun during the invasion of Croft Manor. 

The movie still holds up fifteen years later and is worth watching if you enjoy the Indiana Jones or the Brendan Fraser Mummy series as I do.

Crossovers Expanded Volumes 1 & 2 (2016) by Sean Levin published Meteor House

A few years back Win Scott Eckert published Crossovers: A Secret History of the Universe which made connections to many different characters through the links of crossovers. 

I reviewed these back on the old blog (which will have to be reposted here soon)  and found them to be excellent works that were well researched.  However, by its very nature such a work is incomplete - new crossover stories are written all the time and older ones await rediscovery.  Win handed the title of Crossover Chronicler to Sean Levin who after several years of work has published these two new volumes.

Levin has taken Win's format and built two new volumes that have the same breadth and scope of history as Win's works.  Indeed if all four volumes were to reedited into one giant sized telephone sized work I may have some trouble identifying which entries were by which author but this is a good thing it makes Crossovers Expanded feel like an organic outgrowth of the original volumes.

 Looking through both volumes I was frequently surprised by crossovers I was unaware of and pleased to see some familiar authors and names appear in this book.  Full disclosure, several of my stories are referenced in this work and Sean has done a great job at spotting the connections I have sprinkled through my stories. 

I bow to Sean's knowledge of pulp and adventure fiction.  I must also compliment the artwork that littered the work that provided a visual link to the works.  Keith Howell has done a great job on the covers illustrating several heroic archetypes.

As a fan of pulp and adventure fiction these are invaluable reference works.