Difference between revisions of "Jacqueline Natla"

Revision as of 05:01, 28 September 2008

Jacqueline Natla, as seen in Tomb Raider 1 and Tomb Raider Anniversary

Jacqueline Natla's background

Natla was one of the three legendary Rulers of Atlantis, along with Tihocan and Qualopec. Together they created the Scion, a device of immeasurable power. This device was split into three parts, one for each of the rulers, representing the democracy that Atlantis lived by.

Natla abused this power, however, using the Scion to experiment in genetic engineering and create a new, improved race of Atlanteans. When they learned of this, Tihocan and Qualopec sentenced Natla to eternal imprisonment, freezing her and then burying her in present day New Mexico.

During World War II, the U.S. began testing nuclear weapons in Los Alamos, New Mexico. One of these tests happened to detonate very near to Natla's prison, freeing her from her eternal punishment.

Natla adopted the guise of Jacqueline Natla and founded Natla Technologies, a very successful company which gave her considerable financial backing. With the rest of her people long dead, there was no one to stand in the way of her experiments, and she began to research the whereabouts of the Scion.

Natla's powers, at least in Continuity 2 (Crystal Dynamics, TRA), seem to include superstrength, supernatural firepower, the ability to fly and the ability to teleport. She can also apparently shapeshift and is able to change from human to Atlantean form.

In the original game (TR1, Continuity 1) it is suggested that her wings are a mutant that she wears on her shoulders, and that her ability to shoot fireballs is due to a mutant attached or grafted to her forearm. There is no hint in TR1 that she has the ability to shapeshift or teleport, or that she has superstrength or is immortal. It is arguable that the conversion of Natla from human to superhuman in the style of a DC or Marvel Comics or Disney villianness, demonstrates the move from a British (Core Design) to an American (Crystal Dynamics) aesthetic.

Tomb Raider & Tomb Raider Anniversary

Jacqueline Natla (TR1)

In the Tomb Raider / Anniversary storyline she hired Lara Croft to travel to Peru to uncover Qualopec's third of an artefact called the Scion, but underestimated both Lara's ability and her moral solidarity. When Larson, one of Natla's employees, revealed to Lara that there was more going on than she originally thought, Lara took up the trail of the Scion, unwilling to blindly hand over such a powerful artefact.

Lara travelled from Peru to Greece, and then to an ancient city in Egypt collecting the three pieces of the Scion before Natla could. However, Natla caught up with Lara on a cliff side in Egypt and stole the completed Scion from her. Natla travelled to the great pyramid, an ancient Atlantean construction, to finally complete her experimentation.

Jacqueline Natla (TRA)

Lara infiltrates the great pyramid and finds the control room at the top of an enormous chasm. With Natla's experiments almost complete, Lara attempts to destroy the Scion before it can be used to create Natla's hideous monsters. Natla jumps on Lara, preventing her from shooting the Scion, but apparently falling to her death far below.

However, Natla is not defeated, she reappears in a final showdown with Lara, this time revealing her true Atlantean heritage. She sports red wings and blasts fire balls at Lara. When she is sufficiently injured she plays dead, lulling Lara into a false sense of security, but will then keep fighting until she is finally killed.

Tomb Raider Legend

Natla Industries crates

During the final level of Tomb Raider Legend, Bolivia - The Looking Glass crates can be seen with the Natla Industries logo. These have led to speculations if there might be connections between Natla and the storyline of Legend; something hopefully revealed in Tomb Raider Underworld. Some fans even believe that they point to a possible relation between Natla and Amanda, as both women look similar.

Tomb Raider Underworld

The cryogenic chamber that Natla may be encased in

Natla will reappear in Tomb Raider Underworld; however her physical appearance has not been shown yet. At the end of the second trailer, Lara arrives at a chamber with a tank in its centre. She approaches it and says "No..!" the screen gets dark and Natla's voice is heard, saying "I'm very pleased to see you again Lara".

It has been revealed that Lara will be looking for Thor's hammer to kill a god, possibly Natla. It is unknown if Natla will be Underworld's main villain or if she will be the only one in the game. Natla will also be in search for the Mjolnir, which she will most likely use to bring about Ragnarok and finally start the seventh age.

Natla will appear at the Mediterranean level, in a cargo ship where Lara finds by following a mercenary who knocked her out after retrieving Thor's Gauntlet. She is being held in a cryogenic glass chamber, and then tells Lara about Avalon and Xibalba being the same place; Helheim, which leads her to Thailand.

Whilst meeting with Natla, Lara discovers Amanda Evert with her, who steals Thor's Gauntlet from Lara. In pursuit, Lara shoots Amanda in the hand, making her drop the gauntlet. Lara recovers it, but Amanda and Natla escape.

Voices

• Grey DeLisle[1] (Tomb Raider Anniversary), (Tomb Raider Underworld)

Trivia

• A "scorched Natla" outfit is unlockable in Anniversary.
• Amanda Evert's appearance from Tomb Raider: Legend is believed to have been influenced by Natla's original design from the first game, and there is much speculation among the fans that Amanda is either related to or involved with Natla in some as yet undisclosed way. Sophia Leigh from Tomb Raider III also bears a slight resemblance despite using the same model as Lara.
• Natla has featured in a number of Tomb Raider fan fiction stories, including "GM" and "The Dead" by Ostercy[2] and "An Eye For An Eye" by Dr. Amazing, the latter being the winning entry in a Natla story writing competition, The Second Village of Tokakeriby TR Story Competition, 2002 ([3]).
• The Klaxons song "Atlantis to Interzone" is dedicated to Natla.
• The goddess Astarte of ancient Asiatic mythology is thought to have her origin with Natla's sister of the same name.
• The Aramaic word "natla" (נטלא) means "the vessel used for washing hands". Another possible etymology of "natla" says it derives from "נטל " and should be viewed literally as "that which is lifted" or "that which is taken".