Yep, who would have thought it, Lara Croft in Ireland.

A while back the great Superhero Hype site mentioned that Adam Hughes is attached to do the costume designs on the Watchmen movie. Knowing Hughes’ Wonder Woman work, I checked out his site and found the above, the cover for Tomb Raider issue 42 and imagined some assassins asking directions in rural Ireland:

‘eh? Lara Croft ye say, naw don’t know her, she one of the Balinode Crofts back for the Christmas?, I don’t know who you’re lookin’ fer, but I did see a statuesque archaeologist in a tight tricolour top brandishing a British passport and lots of big guns down that way, if that’s any help!’

These action heroes can be so discreet.

Of course Tomb Raider has had an Irish connection before in the form of Rhona Mitra a half-Irish model/actress who portrayed Tomb Raider for promotional appearances.

Unfortunately one of these appearances occurred before the wonders of YouTube, so I will have to describe it from the perspective of the poor kid involved and his run in with a certain ‘insufferable arsehole’:

Picture the scene, you’re an eight-year-old kid and you get on to The Late Late Toy Show, great right? maybe you like Tomb Raider (or may be you can’t be bothered) and you get to play one of the new Tomb Raider games on a hot new console…The Play Station (whatever, it looks cool, still not to pushed on this Tomb Raider woman). Anyway you and your mate are playing away minding your own business when some awkward looking bespectacled gom in a jumper starts poking you in the shoulder and going:

‘look lads, look who it is, it’s Tomb Raider!’

and there’s some big woman in a rubber bra and tight pants coming at you with some fake guns, and the guy in the jumper’s getting all excited and sweating like he’s just got out of a hot bath. I wish he’d leave me alone….

You and us all little kid of yesteryear, you and us all….

p.s. if anyone else remembers a model as Tomb Raider on the Late Late Toy Show scaring some kids and Pat Kenny being a little too enthusiastic about her presence, please comment, it will convince everyone I know I’m not hallucinating.