Alison Carroll Is New Lara Croft

Alison Carroll is the new face of Lara Croft from the game Tomb Raider.Gamers can dream that Angelina Jolie will one day take her cinematic Lara Croft into the video game world. But for now, they’ll have to make do with the lovely Alison Carroll, a competitive U.K. gymnast who looks downright sporting in her multiple-holstered, black-booted garb.Carroll, 23, will be the real-life incarnation of the famed game heroine at promotions for the series’ latest installment, Tomb Raider: Underworld.

Game creator Eidos Interactive says Carroll embodies the essence of Croft–”brawn, brains, and beauty” (and er, bustiness, perhaps?). The company says Tomb Raider: Underworld has upped the ante on Croft’s athleticism, and the character will tackle her trademark high adventures with movements and skills reminiscent of a highly skilled gymnast.The agile Carroll, from Croydon, England, beat out hundreds of superheroine hopefuls to become the new Croft.In preparation for her role, the athlete is embarking on a rigorous regime that includes survival, combat, and semiautomatic-weapons training, as well as a course in world archaeology (Croft’s day job).