Lara Croft set off on her first Tomb Raider adventure in 1996, traveling the globe in search of ancient artifacts amid dark and dusty ruins. She pushed that video game into a multibillion-dollar franchise that included several sequels, two feature films (starring Angelina Jolie), an animated series, apparel and merchandise. Now, the Academy Award-winning Swedish actress Alicia Vikander is set to portray Lara Croft in a reboot of the series.

But 20 years on, Lara Croft has a complicated legacy. Her creators introduced her as a tough, agile archaeologist who could outmatch Indiana Jones, yet she was noticed more for her voluptuous physique and revealing attire — a tank top and short shorts. And she remains a polarizing figure among gamers, a paradox regarded as either a digital pinup girl or a feminist role model — or sometimes both.

“There was a duality in her character,” said Meagan Marie, the community and communications manager at Crystal Dynamics, the video game developer entrusted with the Lara Croft franchise, and the author of “20 Years of Tomb Raider: Digging Up the Past, Defining the Future.” “She was a sex icon and a feminist icon, and there is no issue being both of those at once.”

Her sexualized appearance was a drawback from the early days of video game development when women were hard to distinguish from men on 32-bit consoles, Ms. Marie said. Flowing hair was difficult to design — Lara Croft wears her hair in a single braid — so emphasizing a woman’s hips, legs and breasts became an easier way to feminize her.