Tomb Raider Timeline/Playing orders

[Lucid_Dreamer]

Hi @Lucid_Dreamer,
Your timeline is great, specially love comics chronology -> but it looks like 3 comics from Top Cow are missing in chronology.
Will you add them?

Tomb Raider #0 https://comicvine.gamespot.com/tomb-raider-0/4000-112289/
Witchblade/Tomb Raider #1/2
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/witchbladetomb-raider-12/4000-119059/ -> sequel to Tomb Raider/Witchblade Special #1
Dark Crossings
https://tombraider.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Crossings:_Dark_Clouds_Overhead
+ per https://raidingtheglobe.com/comics/top-cow/crossovers there were 2 more cameos in Witchblade:
TALES OF THE WITCHBLADE #9
WITCHBLADE #84

+ remaining issues of Endgame crossover
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/endgame/4045-55662/ Witchblade 58+59+61 should probably be included as well?

Thank you

Hey thanks for the feedback!

writing the Top Cow part of the timeline was actually the hardest bit, given the lack of information or reading guides for the series, lack of dates within the series and the whole nature of crossovers and "comic book time". The amount of simularly named issues was confusing too, I had actually read some of the issues you listed and completely to include them!

Going through the titles you listed, I placed Witchblade/Tomb Raider 1 and "Dark Crossings" as per their publishing date (Dark Crossings I used the 1st issue). This does place them during the period where Chase Carver is desperately trying to get into Laras good books but its entirely plausable that Lara would still be doing things without him around.

Tomb Raider 0 I used the publishing month, but placed it before the series due to its number (however, just like the 0.5 issue there is NO REASON why it should be a 0 issue since there is nothing that would make it a prequel to the series but I digress...)

as per the witchblade cameos I looked at those issues and Im not sure I would call them cameos... Tales of the Witchblade features a photo of Lara (albeit held by a character who was in one of the earlier crossover stories) and Witchblade 84 features an image of the main character in a montage that portray how Laras life has become "really complicated" but its really just a still pose, so I dont think I would count them.

as for the endgame issues, I didnt have the time to read them properly (and i probably should read them alongside the rest of endgame) but it didnt look like Lara was in them, however given they are all the same story arc maybe they should be included just for completions sake

 

[JudgeDreddpool]

Unified Timeline:

As stated previously, the unified timeline is a combination of the three previous timelines, and as of September 2023 we have not seen any installments in this timeline. This timeline is based on the official timeline that was posted by Square Enix that has since been taken down (although you can find it on the wayback machine). I have also included the Angel of Darkness tie-in novels as they were rereleased during the anniversary event and described as "partially canon"

Timeline order
Tomb Raider: the beginning
Tomb Raider 2013
Tomb Raider the ten thousand immortals
Tomb Raider v2 Issue 1- 6: Season of the witch
Tomb Raider v2 Issue 7-12: Secrets and lies
Tomb Raider v2 Issue 13-18: Queen of serpents
Rise of Tomb Raider Announcement trailer
Rise of Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider v3 Issue 1-6: Spore
Tomb Raider v3 Issue 7-12: Choice and sacrifice
Tomb Raider Survivors crusade Issue 1-4
Tomb Raider Inferno Issue 1-4
Shadow of the tomb raider path of apocalypse
Shadow of tomb raider
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft
Tomb Raider (1996) / Tomb Raider Anniversary
Tomb Raider: Unfinished Buisness
Tomb Raider II & Golden Mask DLC
Tomb Raider III & The Lost Artifact DLC
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
Tomb Raider Chronicles
Tomb Raider: Amulet of Power
Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness
Tomb Raider: The Lost Cult
Tomb Raider: The Man of Bronze
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
Lara Croft and the Frozen Omen
Lara Croft and the Blade of Gwynnever
Tomb Raider: Legend
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Tomb Raider: Underworld Beneath the Ashes & Lara's Shadow

Am curious, but any idea where the Top Cow (and other) Comics, Movies and Re\Visioned animated series fall in the Unified Timeline?

 

[JudgeDreddpool]

Also, wondering if you've seen this yet?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_Raider_Reloaded

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

Am curious, but any idea where the Top Cow Comics, Movies and Re\Visioned animated series fall in the Unified Timeline?

Hey! long time since I've updated this, i've been real busy with uni study, IRL hobbies and general life stuff that I havent had much time. I have been slooowllly working my way through Tomb Raider remastered but its slow going (just on my New game + of TRII)

as for how the all that would fit into the "unified" timeline its tricky. Basically the biographical detail about Lara shifts a lot between franchises, with Lara having contradictory backstories. However (particularly in the earlier tie-ins) there was a tendency for the media to reference the games as having "happened". That being said, Im not sure if any of the tie-in material not directly referenced in the official timeline is canon.


If I were gonna try and place a timeline on the series, I would interlace the original Top Cow comic with the games (particularly as they adapt "Angel of Darkness") with the inital appearance starting post-Tomb Raider II as she has her wetsuit from that game in the early comics. The first Jolie movie would be placed between "Amulet of Power" and "angel of Darkness" whereas the second jolie movie would be post "angel of darkness" as it references that game

the "Journey's" series is a bit trickier, as it feels like its supposed to be a thematic ending to Lara's adventures, but also features a Lara who is very uncomfortable with murder (which is... soo not classic Lara) and also references an event that occurs in the main comics. My inclination would to past it post-2005 after the Top Cow mainline has ended but also before "Legends"

the 2019 Tomb Raider movie is trickier to place as its a retelling of the 2013 game but also.... not? If I had to place it I would put it between the 2013 game and "rise of tomb raider" with the headcanon that after losing Sam Lara throws herself into boxing and cycle couring as a distraction from her grief, and that the end of the movie is the start of her obsession with "Trinity" as seen in "Rise"

the Rev//isioned series is mostly standalone stories, so Id place them in the 2000s probably before "Legends" once again. There is a prequel story, but it also would overcomplicate the lore of Laras education (if we treat everything as canon then she went to like 5 prestigioius academies and flipflopped between being a troublemaker and a lonely bookworm)

Ive seen reloaded, yeah, even have it downloaded onto my phone but havent had a chance to play it yet

also... new trailer !

 

[Megatron]

Am curious, but any idea where the Top Cow (and other) Comics, Movies and Re\Visioned animated series fall in the Unified Timeline?

aside from @Lucid_Dreamer 's answer this blog will give u an idea.

https://pulpybrad.blogspot.com/2020/05/tomb-raider-timeline-updated.html

 

[Pro Bot]

Thoughts on Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft's "3 years later" thing? Shall we just say it's a Homecoming moment and the flashback is 2013 while the present day is 2018?

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

Thoughts on Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft's "3 years later" thing? Shall we just say it's a Homecoming moment and the flashback is 2013 while the present day is 2018?

oh gosh I havent updated this in a while have I.... apologies everyone, life has been a lot


As for the "3 years later" comment I knew they were going to do something like that. Thing is I dont really see the "unified" timeline being the same as the survivor timeline, as a big part of the Survivor timeline is that Laras first exposure to anything supernatural/adventure was in TR13. In "Legends" we see that Lara was already a gun toting adventurer before going to the island, (not to mention im pretty sure Roth has a different death scene).

I think with some squashing (and ignoring of background details and dates in the comics) it is possible that Tomb Raider 2013, Rise of Tomb Raider and Shadow of the tomb raider could have happened one year after another, and i did start trying to work on a timeline that supported that above but then life continued to stop happening.

With regards to the animated series, it had some moments but I found it a bit mediocre tbh, and I forgotten most of it (Lara went to Paris to meet her other super bff? theres a guy who is like an older Lara but evil and has a mind control gem? they teased us with the Lara/Sam plot and then ONLY ADDRESSED IT AS A CLIFFHANGER??)

still im looking forward to the TR 4-6 remake coming out soon!

 

[Megatron]

oh gosh I havent updated this in a while have I.... apologies everyone, life has been a lot


As for the "3 years later" comment I knew they were going to do something like that. Thing is I dont really see the "unified" timeline being the same as the survivor timeline, as a big part of the Survivor timeline is that Laras first exposure to anything supernatural/adventure was in TR13. In "Legends" we see that Lara was already a gun toting adventurer before going to the island, (not to mention im pretty sure Roth has a different death scene).

I think with some squashing (and ignoring of background details and dates in the comics) it is possible that Tomb Raider 2013, Rise of Tomb Raider and Shadow of the tomb raider could have happened one year after another, and i did start trying to work on a timeline that supported that above but then life continued to stop happening.

With regards to the animated series, it had some moments but I found it a bit mediocre tbh, and I forgotten most of it (Lara went to Paris to meet her other super bff? theres a guy who is like an older Lara but evil and has a mind control gem? they teased us with the Lara/Sam plot and then ONLY ADDRESSED IT AS A CLIFFHANGER??)

still im looking forward to the TR 4-6 remake coming out soon!

returning with the "3 years later" I think we have 2 ways to make it work.

1st Option: Take it as a retcon, basically the tie-in media of the old survivor timeline gets a shorter time span between eachothers.

2nd Option: We consider it a continuity error and leave the 5 years timespan of the survivor trilogy intact.

 

[Megatron]

Mid August - Mid September
Tomb Raider the ten thousand immortals

Late September
Tomb Raider v2 Issue 1-6 Season of the Witch (main story)

2014
February
Tomb Raider v2 Issue 7-12: Secrets and lies (main story)

(roughly) May - July
Tomb Raider v2 Issue 13-18: Queen of serpents

after reading the novel i come up with this placements:

Chapter 1-3 are set in August 15th
Chapter 4 goes from August 16th to 17th
Chapter 5 starts in August 17th and then time jumps in August 24th
Chapter 6-7 are set on August 26th
Chapter 8-9 are set on August 29th
Chapter 10 goes from August 30th to September 1st
Chapter 11-14 are set on September 1st
Chapter 15-16 are set on September 2nd
Chapter 17 is set on September 4th
Chapter 18 goes from September 4th to 5th
Chapter 19-24 are set on September 5th
Chapter 25 is set on September 6th
Chapter 26 goes from September 6th to 7th
Chapter 27-40 are set on September 7th
Chapter 41 is set on September 11th
--
--
Tomb Raider (2014) #1 is set on September 19th
Tomb Raider (2014) #2 starts on September 19th and then time jumps to September 22nd
Tomb Raider (2014) #3 is set on September 22nd and then time jumps to september 26th
Tomb Raider (2014) #4-5 are set on September 26th
Tomb Raider (2014) #6 goes from September 26th to 27th
--
--
Tomb Raider (2014) #7-12 is same as you
--
--
Tomb Raider (2014) #13-14 are set in May
Tomb Raider (2014) #15-18 are set in June

 

[Megatron]

so getting back to this for 2 reasons:

1st reason is that I hope that @Lucid_Dreamer is all save and sound since he's been missing since January 2025.

2nd reason is regarding the unified timeline dating sistem.

So since we don't have a date yet, let's dive into the "Classic", "Legends" and Survivor Timelines hard dates (and i'm using the "" cos in my opinion the "legends timeline" never existed as the Senior Menager of Square Enix places LAU under the classic era in his timeline).

the "classic timeline" has Chronicles and Last Revelation and the press kit.

the "legends timeline" has Anniversary which places itself in 1996, so the original tomb rider has that hard date too.

the survivor timeline has his birth year as being 1992, the in-games collectibles, Richard Croft's Toombstone, and the toombstones from Shadow.

So if we have to pick up a set of dates, I think the survivor timeline ones are out of the questions, as they come only from minor informations. While the "classic" and "Legends" timeline fits with one another very well, thanks also with the hard dates of Chronicles, Last Revelation and Anniversary, which combined with the ages stated in the manuals, they are way more reliable than the survivor timeline dates. So I think I would go with the anniversary hard date, then use the "Classic" Lara's age to find when each game is set, and then adapt the survivor trilogy with that.

So combining Anniversary's 1996 and Tomb Rider I's 28 years old statement, at least in my opinion Lara is born in 1968.