Season of the Witch
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Writer: Gail Simone
Pencils: Nicolás Daniel Selma Inks: Juan Gedeon Colours: Michael Atiyeh Lettering: Michael Heisler Cover Art: Dan Dos Santos (Issue 1) Release: 24 February, 24 March, 23 April, 28 May, 25 June, 23 July 2014 Original Price: US $3.50 | UK £2.40 Issue # in Set: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
After surviving Yamatai, Lara and her fellow survivors took with them some pieces of gold. Soon after, they begin to experience awful visions so Lara decides to return to the island to face them. However these visions lead her and her friends into trouble.
Allies:
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Sam Nishimura
Sam had been having nightmares about Yamatai, and had also been sleepwalking. One night, she fell out of bed and woke up with a hand print on her arm. When Lara was in Dublin, Sam was visited by the two stone daughters of Matsu. She was held captive in Yamatai by people who worshipped the Solarii. Matsu had Sam hung against a pole, ready to be sacrificed for a ritual. As before, she wore a sacrificial dress with her face painted white. When Lara made her way to the island and was captured by the Makara, Matsu took Lara to see Sam. When the ritual to raise Mathias was interrupted by Reyes and Jonah, Sam used a guard's blade to slice Matsu's neck. She ran off with Lara, who pushed her with Reyes and Jonah, telling them to go. They headed down to the beach to wait for Lara, who eventually joined them. |
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Jonah Maiava
Jonah had driven his trailer out to North America, to a place called Devil's Rest. He placed all his possessions into waterproof plastic bags, believing that he was the Jonah who was swallowed by a whale. He told Lara that the survivors from Yamatai each took a piece of gold, and now they have to beware of the guardians who want the pieces back to "build his house". There are four guardians and four calamities. Lara stopped him from killing himself just before the trailer was swept away by large waves. When the trailer came to a stop, he pushed Lara out; the trailer then exploded seconds later. Lara swam down and pulled him to the water surface. Ray (the guide) then pulled them out of the water. He demanded the box that Jonah was holding, but Lara refused to give it over. Just as Ray was about to shoot her, Jonah woke up and grabbed hold of his legs. Lara stabbed his hand with her climbing axe and Ray fell backwards over the edge. Lara managed to get Jonah to a hospital, where he was put under observation. A few days later, he woke up and checked out of hospital. He joined Lara and Reyes on the trip back to Yamatai on a fishing trawler called Jerung. However when Jerung was on fire, Jonah was nowhere to be found. He, along with Reyes, used a dinghy to reach Yamatai. They knew that they had to find Lara, and intimidated one of Matsu's guards for her location. Reyes prevented Lara from getting beheaded and Jonah fought one of the Makaras. They escaped the monastery where Lara pushed Sam to them, telling them to leave. They headed down to the beach to wait for Lara, who eventually rejoined them. |
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Joslin Reyes
Reyes was in Belfast when she contacted Lara again after the Yamatai ordeal. She wanted to talk to her about the piece of gold that she had taken from Yamatai. She met Lara in a pub in Dublin, where a man joined them, demanding them to return the gold. He held Reyes' daughter Alisha hostage until the pair agreed to do so. When Danny, an ‘ally’, broke up the situation, Reyes, Alisha and Lara ran out onto the streets. Reyes told Lara that she will run the opposite way to her as trouble seems to follow her. Later, Alisha scorned her mother for saying what she did to Lara, and the pair rejoined Lara, just in time to save her life. Lara and Reyes first went to Trinity College and found out that Professor Cahalane was dead, someone they hoped to talk to. They then headed back to Lara and Sam's home. Reyes managed to get a fishing trawler called Jerung, and joined Lara and Jonah on the trip back to Yamatai. However when Jerung was set on fire, Reyes was nowhere to be found. She, along with Jonah, used a dinghy to reach Yamatai. They knew that they had to find Lara, and intimidated one of Matsu's guards for her location. Reyes prevented Lara from getting beheaded and Jonah fought one of the Makaras. They escaped the monastery where Lara pushed Sam to them, telling them to leave. They headed down to the beach to wait for Lara, who eventually rejoined them. |
Artefacts:
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Pieces of Gold
When leaving Yamatai, the survivors of the ordeal (Lara, Jonah and Reyes) each took a priceless piece from various noble houses, originating from China to Afghanistan. Jonah Maiava's piece was an antefix, the end piece of a roof to a royal house. On the underside was an inscription in Afghan, which read: "He will have his house, wall, floor, roof and door, and each shall have a guardian, and each shall bear a calamity". Joslin Reyes' piece of gold was a Men Kan, which was a part of a beam that went across the bottom of an ancient Chinese doorway. Lara Croft found her piece, which was a piece of a wall carving, a frieze. Matsu told Lara that there was a prophecy- four artefacts and four guardians. He was the first guardian, his two daughters were second and third, and she would meet the fourth soon. |
Baddies:
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Matsu
(? - 2014) Matsu belonged to a cult who worshipped the Solarii. His two daughters were guised as Makara. He had followed Joslin Reyes in Ireland and sat at the table with Reyes and Lara Croft in the pub they had stopped off into. He told the women that they would return the pieces that they had stolen from Yamatai, as the four golden pieces completed a house that belonged to a demon that will enslave the world. When the women tried to make a stand, he had his guards bring in Reyes' daughter, Alisha. He told them that if they refused to do as he said, he would kill her and everyone else in the pub. Lara didn't know where her piece was but when the countdown reached one, she lied to him. When there were shots fired by an ‘ally’, she hit him across the head with a glass bottle. Later, Matsu told Sam Nishimura that they did not want to resurrect Himiko, they wanted to bring back Mathias. He also told her that she was simply bait. Lara and the new ‘ally’, Danny, were then captured. Matsu visited them and told Lara that he wanted to make Sam into a Makara whilst using Lara's blood to bring back Mathias. He and his guards took Lara to see Sam in the monastery where he began the ritual, having Lara's wrist cut for blood to drip onto one of the four gold artefacts. He ordered for his guard to behead her, but the ritual was disrupted by Reyes and Jonah Maiava. Sam used one of the guard's blade to slice Matsu's neck. He fell onto the sigil on the ground, becoming the vessel for Mathias' soul. He killed his two daughters and went after Lara. Both Lara and Danny threw a grenade at him. It exploded, trapping and killing him under the rubble from the collapse caused. |
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Danny
(? - 2014) First seen in issue #3 when he helped Lara and Reyes to escape Matsu in Ireland, Danny appeared again on the island of Yamatai, where he helped Lara out of the sea when she jumped in to avoid a groundslide. He told her that he worked for her father. He also told her that the cult wanted to resurrect Mathias, who would then find a way to Himiko. Matsu's daughters showed up and held him hostage. They told Lara that she should drop her weapon or they would kill him. Despite not knowing him, Lara dropped her gun. They were taken to the monastery, where soon, after the ritual to bring back Mathias began. He helped to kill Matsu but then turned on Lara, saying that for as long as she is alive, the cult will continue to try and bring back Mathias. He told her that he loved her father but then weakly pledged his loyalty to Matsu. He said that Lara and her friends never took the artefacts from Yamatai; he made them think that they did through the cult's mind control. Lara figured out that it was Danny who blew up the Jerung, and it was him that she had stabbed with the harpoon spear. The pair then fought, Lara stabbed him in his chest with her axe as he shot her in the shoulder. She kicked him and head-butted him. He then used his mind control on her, making her jump off the cliff. She had managed to steal a grenade from him and had thrown it in his direction. The grenade exploded, killing him. |
Enemies:
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Makara
Matsu's two daughters' pledged their lives to becoming a Makara. First seen in issue #2, one of the daughters broke into Professor Cahalane's office at Trinity College in Dublin and killed him. Later, they broke into Lara Croft and Sam Nishimura's London apartment and kidnapped Sam. On the island of Yamatai, they found and captured Lara and Danny. When Matsu became possessed with Mathias' soul, they rushed to their father's aid, only to be killed by him. |
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Matsu's Guards
Hired mercenaries to do Matsu's dirty work. |
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Matsu (Possessed by Mathias)
When Sam used one of the guard's blades to slice Matsu's neck during the ritual to revive Mathias, Matsu fell onto the sigil on the ground, becoming the vessel for Mathias' soul. He turned on his own daughters and killed them before trying to go after Lara. |
Location:
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UK - London - Lara & Sam’s Apartment
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USA - Devil’s Rest
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Ireland – Dublin - Trinity College
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Dragon’s Triangle - Yamatai
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Other Characters:
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Alex Weiss
Alex had died on the island of Yamatai as he stayed behind to deal with Solarii, helping Lara to escape the wreck of the Endurance. He is seen as a vision in issue #5 under the water, when Lara jumped into the sea to avoid a landslide. He told her that she was drowning. He also told her that he was lonely so she could stay with him. He then asked her if she could give his sister a pocket watch if she was still alive. In appearance, some of his limbs were burnt and as Lara swam away from him, his head transformed into a skull on fire. |
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Alisha
Joslin Reyes' teen daughter, first mentioned in the game 'Tomb Raider' (2013) and then seen in issue #3 when Matsu took her hostage in an attempt to reclaim the pieces of gold that they had stolen. She is saved by Danny, and Lara, Reyes and herself run and escape. |
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Ray
Seen in issues #1 and #2. Lara Croft hired him to take her to Devil's Rest in North America. He called Lara a "trust fund baby". When Lara headed inside the trailer to talk to Jonah Maiava, he listened outside through the door. Then when the waves began flooding through the canyon, he was swept away. He managed to surface further along, and later helped Lara and Jonah out of the water in issue #2. He demanded the box that Jonah was holding onto, telling Lara that he heard what they had spoken about. When Lara refused to give it over, he threatened to kill them both. Just as Ray is about to shoot her, Jonah woke up and grabbed hold of his legs. Lara stabbed his hand with her climbing axe and Ray fell backwards over the edge. |
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Professor Cahalane
He was a friend of Lara Croft's father and used to work at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Seen in issue #2, Lara gave him Jonah's box, which contained a piece of gold and a small statue. She let him keep the Makara, the small figure, for further researching. Later that night when he was recording his research into a voice recorder, he heard a noise at his office door. The door was then smashed open and a stoney-looking figure stood behind and broke his neck. In issue #4, Lara said that he sometimes acted like an "overprotective uncle". |
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Nur Hussein
He was the captain of 'Jerung', a fishing trawler that Lara, Reyes and Jonah used to return back to Yamatai. Later that night, the enemies had caught up with the trawler and had set it alight. One of the divers shot Nur from behind with a harpoon. |
Vehicles:
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'Jerung' - Fishing Trawler
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Life Raft
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Weapons:
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Bow
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Climbing Axe
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Other Details:
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Individual Issue Names:
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Variant Covers:
Issue #1 Forbidden Planet / Jetpack Comics Cover
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Issue #1 San Diego Comic Con Cover
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