Tomb Raider comic originally had Lara and Sam Nishimura end up together
Tomb Raider comic Tomb Raider: Inferno originally had Lara Croft and Samantha Nishimura end up together, until their "culminating kiss" was reduced to a "friendly hug."
The news comes from Gayming, who recently published a piece explaining how Lara and Sam were supposed to be together.
Sam, who was introduced in 2013's Tomb Raider, is Lara's best friend - and, as pointed out in the Gayming piece, the rainbow that appears above their heads at the end of the game is not exactly subtle.
(Image credit: ResetEra)
However, Sam never appeared again in the Tomb Raider video game series, leaving her relationship with Lara largely unexplored. Fortunately, writers from other mediums took up the mantle - one of whom penned Tomb Raider: Inferno.
The only physical intimacy displayed between Lara and Sam in Inferno is a platonic hug, although author Jackson Lanzing has stated that the original plan was to examine their romantic feelings for one another.
The confirmation comes from a response to comic book writer Gail Simone, who had posted a tweet stating, "you cannot convince me that Lara and Sam aren’t 10000% gay for each other."
Lanzing's reply is embedded below.
"Gail, we tried so hard to make it canon," wrote Lanzing. "We had an entire issue in TR: INFERNO dedicated to Lara going through a toxic drug trip and finally, fully understanding her feelings for Sam."
"By the time it went to publishing, their culminating kiss had become a friendly hug."
(Image credit: Gayming)
According to Gayming, artist Phillip Sevy also confirmed that the plan was to have Lara and Sam end up together, noting that he still has the original drawings that were supposed to accompany their kiss.
Maybe - hopefully - in the future these writers will get their wish and be able to have Lara express her romantic feelings for Sam. At the moment, though, their relationship remains unclear.
If you want to read more about Lara and Sam's relationship, be sure to check out our fascinating and immeasurably important piece on why LGBT video game databases matter.