Natla
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[edit] Jacqueline Natla
Jacqueline Natla is a fictional character in the Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider Anniversary video games. She is a wealthy businesswoman and the owner of Natla Technologies. She was born on the 22nd of June 14004 B.C.E., has blond hair and blue eyes.
[edit] Biography
Natla was one of the members of the triumvirate ruling the lost continent of Atlantis. However, she was later condemned for her misuse of power and was imprisoned in a capsule by the other two rulers, Qualopec and Tihocan. After escaping from her prison in the late twentieth century, she took on the name Jacqueline and founded her own company called Natla Technologies using her scientific expertise and cunning. In 1996 she hired adventurer Lara Croft to search for Qualopec's piece of the Atlantean Scion in his Tomb located in Peru. Shortly after finding the artifact, Lara was attacked by another adventurer Larson under orders by Natla. Knowing Natla had betrayed her, Lara went in search for the remaining two pieces in Greece and then Egypt. After obtaining the final piece, Lara was ambushed by Natla and her men. Stealing the now assembled artifact, Natla ordered Lara to be killed and left Egypt in her boat heading to Atlantis.
It is inside the Great Pyramid of Atlantis that Natla's grand scheme is revealed: to use the Scion's powers to breed a new race of mutant creatures. Realizing this, Lara made her best effort to destroy the Scion. Refusing to let her work be destroyed, Natla charged for Lara sending them both falling into a deep abyss. While Lara managed to grab a ledge, Natla continued to plummet into the lava pit bellow and was presummed dead. However, later on as Lara made her way through the now collapsing pyramid, she encountered Natla yet again, who was now sporting a bomb launcher and red wings similar to those of the Atlantean monsters she had encountered before. After apparently killing Natla, Lara escaped the pyramid as it was destroyed in a big explosion.
[edit] Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Jacqueline Natla returned in Crystal Dynamic's remake of the original game, Tomb Raider: Anniversary. On March 30th, 2007, Gamespot released a video of the opening cutscene in which Lara is hired by Natla to find the Atlantean Scion. In this clip, Natla had a much thinner body frame compared to the original model, as well as sharp and almost alien like facial features, longer hair, pale skin and long, sharp nails. She also no longer had a Texan accent, and little is known whether any changes have been made to her role in the story. She is voiced by Grey Delisle.
[edit] Trivia
- In Tomb Raider: Legend, several crates containing the "Natla Industries" logo can be seen throughout the final level.
- 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 resemblence 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 and "An Eye For An Eye" by Dr. Amazing.
- 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."
