Is Lara Croft a superheroine?

[GeekyPornCritic]

Lara Croft.jpg (250.76 KiB) Viewed 4826 times

Lara Croft is one of the most popular female video game characters. She is often categorized as a SHIP character by some studios, artist, and websites. Many superheroine cosplay websites, Twitter pages, and Facebook groups accept Lara Croft as a superheroine.

I think Lara is a fantastic heroine, but I do not classify her as a superheroine. She doesn't have super powers, specialized gadgets like Batman, and a costume. She is just an archaeologist, who happens to run into dangerous people also seeking the same ancient treasures for wicked intentions.

What do you think? Does she belong in our superheroine fetish?

[travis36]

Was Indiana Jones a superhero?

[brdiy]

More of an Action Hero/Heroine, but I wouldn't mind seeing her roughed up and tied up.

[Femina]

I dunno... She's pretty super acrobatic... and shrugs off mortal wounds astonishingly quickly

[ksire_99]

yes, just like batgirl. Normal human, with extraordinary skills and a sexy costume.

[Imagineer]

Depends on what you mean by "our superheroine fetish."
If "our superheroine fetish" is to be inclusive of what draws people here, the answer is YES.
If "our superheroine fetish" is only the square of our rectangle, the answer is NO.

There are a lot of boxes on the membership survey of interests. Not everybody specifically requires boldly-colored spandex, selfless vigilantism, and far-beyond-peak-human abilities to get their freak flag flapping. Some folks are drawn to imperilment of women who are elite, fearless, or accustomed to their own superiority. Some need the trappings of a melodramatic story about a champion but don't need it to be modern. For some it can only be Wonder Woman, with the power belt, in the star-spangled leotard. With shiny pantyhose. Getting sleepy. After low blows and bearhugs (anybody have SHIP bingo yet?) but not sex because that would just be porn . And she better not be blonde.

[girlofsteel]

yes, just like batgirl. Normal human, with extraordinary skills and a sexy costume.

Solid comparison. The only difference I see is that she doesn't have a secret identity. So while I'm leaning towards yes, I'm still not fully there.

[WonderKenna]

I really like this thread because we plan to launch a new c4s store, hopefully by the end of March. It will have so many of the aspects of our superheroine content, bondage, sexual peril, woman with exceptional skills and talents etc. Other than the classic female spy catsuit (or sxei version of) we won't have costume. It will have more of a femme fatale, noir, James Bond type vibe. I would like to think the women fit the genre since we very much want to post here when the site is released.

I think Lara Croft is as much a superheroine as Batgirl or Huntress since she has no superhuman abilities but relies on skills, equipment, fast thinking and strong will.

[shevek]

Yes. Highly intelligent, athletic and beautiful, in tight clothing, performs amazing physical feats. This one's a no-brainer.

But even more to the point, so is the rather similar Sydney Fox. Always loved Relic Hunter, because it was so...um...educational about history.
Hunting bow for distance, hand-to-hand combat for close quarters. If Hawkeye's a superhero, she's a smarter superheroine than he is.

Sydney_Fox.jpg (13.74 KiB) Viewed 4725 times

Lara Croft and Sydney Fox represent to me a good example of what I'd call "Peak Nineties Sexiness", an era which manifested in the form of comic books, movies, TV shows and video games. We're talking a period which began with Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, Buffy Summers, Lara Croft and Xena, and ended with Dark Angel, Seven of Nine, Relic Hunter and Black Scorpion. Sure, the 70s were notable for icons of sexy second-wave feminism (many of whom have been thoroughly explored in SHIP) but the 90s were the last gasp of that wave on OVERDRIVE. We shall perhaps never see its likes again!

[Dazzle1]

I would classify her as an action heroine:

Same class as Indiana Jones, James Bond or Modesty Blaise

[Dogfish]

Lara Croft is, based on the most recent games, a very odd character. She's attractive but she doesn't acknowledge it or use it. She's book smart but lacking in other areas, and emotionally she's a bit of a mess. What really defines her as a character in the most recent games is her lethality. If I was going to compare Lara Croft's modus operandi to another action hero the closest one out there is Rambo.

Seriously. Watch the last couple of Rambo movies, then watch the stealth kills from Shadow of the Tomb Raider.



Bear in mind the knife she's using at that stage in the game to slaughter those guys is not a knife, it's a sharpened shard of a broken aircraft propellor with a duct tape handle, which is just savage. She can basically kill somebody with anything. She drowns guys, she shoots guys with arrows attached to ropes and hangs them, she poisons people, she plants bombs on injured people, she uses toxic hallucinatory substances to get people to kill their friends before they die of fear, she breaks a few necks, shoots people, sets them on fire, and so on.

And for all that, unlike somebody like the Hitman games Agent 47, there's no non-lethal option. She always kills.

That doesn't make her necessarily a superhero though, what I think does make her a superhero is that she does go up against magical or supernatural forces reasonably often and that she saves the world at least a couple of times.

[DonShip]

I don't think she is a super heroine. She's a tomb raider, so technically a villain. Still, I have a HUGE Lara Croft fetish. Love her. So I don't mind her being placed in this genre.

[ivandobsky]

Sure, why not. The classic hotpants constitute a sort of costume. Superpowers aren't required or batgirl, black widow etc wouldn't count. Being able to transition from muscle-up to handstand is arguably a superpower, as is being able to remember the key combination to get her to do that.

[Visitor]

Yes. Highly intelligent, athletic and beautiful, in tight clothing, performs amazing physical feats. This one's a no-brainer.

Lara Croft and Sydney Fox represent to me a good example of what I'd call "Peak Nineties Sexiness", an era which manifested in the form of comic books, movies, TV shows and video games. We're talking a period which began with Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, Buffy Summers, Lara Croft and Xena, and ended with Dark Angel, Seven of Nine, Relic Hunter and Black Scorpion. Sure, the 70s were notable for icons of sexy second-wave feminism (many of whom have been thoroughly explored in SHIP) but the 90s were the last gasp of that wave on OVERDRIVE. We shall perhaps never see its likes again!

You had that in the 1960's with female action stars like from the Avengers (non-Marvel) with Cathy Gale, Emma Peel, and Tara King, The Girl from U. N. C. L. E. was April Dancer, and Batgirl as the first wave of women that were the equal of the men in comparable TV shows.

[AvaHeinz]

I think a better comparison to it was whether or not Deadpool should be class as a superhero? According to Marvel, Deadpool is a superhero

While Deadpool's power is accelerated healing, the same aspect was actually implied in Lara Croft although not explicitly stated or acknowledge, that is the reason how and why many times Lara Croft was wounded and injured and can continue on with her journey/mission almost immediately.

Problem for your question is that, none of the character we talk about here is in line of Reality, simply because even if Lara Croft was indeed human like you and me, just a sexy gal in hot and tight costume, she would have been kill in Mission 1 in the Shadow of Tomb Raider, unless you honestly believe anyone in this green earth have the ability to jump and hook and take fire like she does in that game.

So, what is a superhero/superheroine? The way Hollywood and mainstream movie make it, every character is actually a Superhero, simply because you may not know what would happen in a movie, but good guys ALWAYS win, and no matter how much damage James Bond/Lieutenant McClane took, they will finish their mission and kills all the bad guy in the next 120 minutes.

On the other hand, if having actual superpower is a sole deciding factor you have in determining what is and what isn't a superhero, then no, She is not, as she does not see thru wall or destroy building in 1 hit or cannot stop time nor cannot distort herself in any way, shape or form.

Finally, a small fact most of us don't know, Lara Croft is British and not American but was inspired by a Swedish-American singer, in which Alicia Vikander is the closest incarnation of Lara Croft that anyone can ever was (Alicia is a swede and speak with a British Accents), another character people always confused with her nationality is Cammy White in Street Fighter, Cammy is British as well...

[Deceiver]

I think some confusion arises because there may be two different answers depending on whether the question is meant for the character in the fiction or the audience in reality.

Take the character in the fiction first. Lara clearly isn't a superheroine. She's just a smart kickass girl. She doesn't have superpowers, a secret identity, or a formal costume. Let's compare her to the Bionic Woman who, in my opinion, would qualify as a superheroine in the fiction. Her bionics are superpowers which would be recognised by organisations such as the Justice League - they'd try to sign her up.

Now for the audience in reality, what often qualifies a heroine to become a superheroine is not her superpowers but origin. Traditionally this is the comic book. I think this distinction still applies. I would say Lara is closely related coming from games world but still doesn't qualify. The Bionic Woman doesn't qualify under this criteria. Her origin comes from the Six Million Dollar Man TV series based on the novel Cyborg.

It gets trickier when considering both Lara and The Bionic Woman are in comics. Lara Croft, in particular, has a strong presence here. However, her origin isn't comic book any more than that of James Bond.

Many years ago, I coined the term "secondary superheroine" within the confines of my mind to describe heroines with powers or were like superheroines. This would include the Bionic Woman, Lara Croft, but also subtler creations like Princess Leia and Deanna Troi from Star Trek. Since the internet, I've noticed others do the same idea (minus the phrase).

In summary, I would say in the story itself, Lara Croft isn't a superheroine, but the Bionic Woman would qualify. In reality, neither are superheroines, but qualify as secondary superheroines (if there were such a thing).

[Dazzle1]

I would argue the Bionic Woman would qualify as she has enhanced abilities that you can not have organicly.

Although Batman or Black Widow have no powers they are so above the norm they can be considered superheroes

On the other hand Croft would likely lose a fight if 3 are more competent thugs attacked her at the same time.

[Femina]

I would argue the Bionic Woman would qualify as she has enhanced abilities that you can not have organicly.

Although Batman or Black Widow have no powers they are so above the norm they can be considered superheroes

On the other hand Croft would likely lose a fight if 3 are more competent thugs attacked her at the same time.

Not even xD. Lara whuped competent thug ASS like she was chewing bubble gum throughout the whole game series in large groups... she's got inhuman stamina, she's acrobatic, she's EXTREMELY deadly with a gun, generally smarter than her foes, loaded with gadgets that help her fight... and willing to kill on top of it... so maybe more of an anti-hero. I'd say Batman isn't a far off comparison in terms of skillset... just toss a little indiana jones in there with him.

[batgirl1969]

put her in a Batgirl, Huntress, or Catwoman costume and she immediatly becomes a superheroine/villainess

[Dazzle1]

put her in a Batgirl, Huntress, or Catwoman costume and she immediatly becomes a superheroine/villainess

That part of it she is not in a costume anymore than Bond is, so action heroine fits her better

[Dogfish]

I would argue the Bionic Woman would qualify as she has enhanced abilities that you can not have organicly.

Although Batman or Black Widow have no powers they are so above the norm they can be considered superheroes

On the other hand Croft would likely lose a fight if 3 are more competent thugs attacked her at the same time.

Not even xD. Lara whuped competent thug ASS like she was chewing bubble gum throughout the whole game series in large groups... she's got inhuman stamina, she's acrobatic, she's EXTREMELY deadly with a gun, generally smarter than her foes, loaded with gadgets that help her fight... and willing to kill on top of it... so maybe more of an anti-hero. I'd say Batman isn't a far off comparison in terms of skillset... just toss a little indiana jones in there with him.

I might say Punisher rather than Batman, just because the Punisher is kind of famously able to suffer an absolute monstering and still keep on murdering. Croft is often defined as being a survivor. Always emerging from plane crashes, dives off waterfalls, fires, floods, explosions and whatnot.

Also there's a classic scene in the Punisher comics where he encounters a friendly polar bear in the zoo and punches it in the face so it'll attack some gangsters. I can totally see Lara doing that.

[Dazzle1]

Here is the difference and I am basing it on the movies scenesI see
Batman or Widow could beat 5 highly trained soilder

Sorry Croft and Bond would not at the same time.

It would like Bruce Lee beating the main antogonists in Enter the Dragon and Return of the Dragon at the same time, that would make him a superhero as opposed to an action hero

[Femina]

Here is the difference and I am basing it on the movies scenesI see
Batman or Widow could beat 5 highly trained soilder

Sorry Croft and Bond would not at the same time.

It would like Bruce Lee beating the main antogonists in Enter the Dragon and Return of the Dragon at the same time, that would make him a superhero as opposed to an action hero

Movie Lara Croft is not OG Lara Croft... in fact the movies don't count at all as far as I'm concerned since all video game films are trash. Lara Croft kills SUPERNATURAL enemies all the time... in large numbers. Heck she was part of the Top Cow comic universe back in the day kicking but alongside people like 'Witchblade' and 'the Darkness'... but even if you're just going by her main series I mean... EVEN in the remakes which are supposed to humanize her more, she runs into burning mansions while helicopters fire mini guns at her, kills thirteen heavily armored soldiers to rescue a friend and then runs out, parkours her way across the collapsing structure with only slightly less grace than Spiderman dodging that helicopters death gun the whole time. Even if you go by the rule that she never truly gets shot if it doesn't happen in a cut scene and rule out bullet sponge powers, she does all this having suffered a seriously bad rebar stabbing at the start of the game which she just sort of walks off.

I mean, I'm not saying she's any more of a superhero than Nathan Drake or anything... but I'm not saying Nathan Drake aint a superhero either.

[Dogfish]

Also she has the super power of being able to throw an axe at some distance with enough force that it sticks in solid rock with enough grip to hold here body weight while she swings. Not sure of the physics involved in that but it's way past impossible for a human.

[awsman]

Either the timing was amazingly coincidental, or I suspect my latest custom inspired this thread since I know GPC enjoyed it. Of course, technically the character is Whora Croft, who's American and MUCH more easily defeated than Lara . I'm obviously biased, but it's definitely worth checking out if you have a fetish for Ms. Croft or you're a fan of Michele James (which you should be).

https://www.clips4sale.com/studio/32589 ... D-1080p%29

As for the topic at hand, I would say that for the purposes of this board's fetish, Lara definitely qualifies as a SHIP, as would any other video game heroines regardless of whether they have powers or technically fight crime.