When we meet him, Mathias Vogel is consumed by the mission that has trapped him on the island. Seven years stranded, put there by Trinity to extract Queen Himiko's remains from a seemingly impenetrable tomb, his ticket home arrives in the form of Lara Croft. She soon proves herself harder to kill than Vogel expected. Leveraging her father's life finally pushes Lara to do his bidding, and once Himiko's tomb is opened, the motivations of Vogel's employer come into focus.
The mysterious organization known as The Order of Trinity was briefly referenced in the 2013 video game, but Rise of the Tomb Raider painted it as one epically nefarious group. We get a hint of their plans in the film's third act. Once Lara and her father realize Queen Himiko's DNA contains a deadly disease — one that transforms people into ravenous zombie-like beasts — they reach the conclusion that Trinity aimed to use the virus as a world-ending weapon.
Their goals of global domination end up being thwarted, though, thanks to Richard's sacrifice. But this sinister plot point offers just a glimpse of what Trinity is and the lengths they're willing to go to in order to gain ultimate power. It's a safe bet they'll be a bigger threat if a Tomb Raider sequel is put into motion.
