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Grand Moff Tarkin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This Star Wars-related article or section describes an aspect of Star Wars in a primarily in-universe style. Please rewrite this article to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. |
| Star Wars character | |
| Wilhuff Tarkin | |
|---|---|
A ruthless Imperial officer, Wilhuff Tarkin executed the Emperor's will through the galaxy. Darth Vader is also shown behind Tarkin. |
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| Position | Regional Governor of Oversector Outer, commander of the Death Star |
| Homeworld | Eriadu |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation | Galactic Empire |
| Portrayed by | Wayne Pygram (Episode III) Peter Cushing (Episode IV) |
Grand Moff Governor Wilhuff Tarkin is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe and is an antagonist in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope where he was portrayed by British actor Peter Cushing. A younger Tarkin had a brief cameo in the prequel film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, where he was portrayed by Wayne Pygram.
Note: Biographical information in this article is taken both from the Star Wars films and from the Expanded Universe.
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Tarkin appears very briefly at the end of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. However, he neither speaks nor is addressed in this role, and is only seen walking away from Darth Sidious to make way for Darth Vader on the bridge of a command ship. It is known that at this point Tarkin, aided by his marriage to Lady Tarkin of the Motti family and his close connections with Palpatine, was already a regional governor, a position that, according to a deleted scene from the movie, had not existed for very long.
Wilhuff Tarkin first meets then-Senator Palpatine as an obscure sector chief on the planet Naboo. The two find that they share a basic philosophy on government: namely, that might makes right. In 33 BBY, Tarkin helps Palpatine engineer the murder of the Trade Federation Directorate, which are on Tarkin's homeworld, Eriadu, for a trade summit. The pirate raids on the Trade Federation that lead to the summit are also been orchestrated by the Sith Lords, as is Nute Gunray's rise to power as Trade Federation viceroy. From then on, they are close allies, using each other to advance their own careers. When Palpatine takes over the galaxy and forms the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY, he rewards Tarkin for his years of service by appointing him a regional governor, a position of considerable power.
Tarkin earned a reputation as a brutal, cold, and ruthless officer during the earliest days of the Empire. In an incident that became known as the "Ghorman Massacre," Tarkin ordered his ship to land on a platform where a large group of protesters were protesting the Imperial taxation on the distant planet Ghorman. Hundreds of Imperial subjects were crushed by Tarkin's transport in the landing. Rather than punish Tarkin, Palpatine made him the sector moff for Seswanna, where Eriadu is located. This event is the first manifestation of what became known as the Tarkin Doctrine, also known as the "doctrine of fear." Tarkin explains it simply: "Rule through the fear of force, rather than force itself." Ironically, Tarkin's niece Rivoche would eventually become a spy for the Rebel Alliance. Her access to the upper echelons of Imperial society gave her access to valuable intelligence that would help topple the Empire and end her own uncle's policies.
Tarkin is one of the few people who knows that Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, as shown by his comment in A New Hope that Vader is all that is left of the Jedi religion. He also knew that Obi Wan Kenobi was Anakin's mentor. He apparently learned of this sometime between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. It is not clear whether he learned this on his own, or was entrusted with this private knowledge by Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine.
One of Tarkin's chief flaws is an overweening arrogance: even after his Mon Calamari slave Ackbar arranges for an attempt on his life during the Rebel Alliance's theft of the Death Star plans, and explains exactly how he had done it before his escape, Tarkin refuses to believe the testimony, convinced only a human could have arranged such a nearly-successful attempt. This flaw appears later during the Battle of Yavin: while the Death Star carries thousands of TIE fighters, Tarkin orders only a few scrambled against the Rebel X-wing squadrons. This fatal underestimation of his enemy allows Luke Skywalker to navigate the trench and fire proton torpedos against the reactor powering the Death Star, destabilizing them and causing a catastrophic detonation of the Death Star. Everybody aboard, including Tarkin, is killed.
The "Tarkin Doctrine" is an unofficial policy of state terrorism that its namesake engineered; he is originally responsible for suppressing treasonous activity against the Empire. Rather than spend large amounts of money and resources to bend all the worlds of the Empire to Palpatine's will, the Tarkin Doctrine instead centers around the use of massive displays of force used to discourage and prevent any opposition. It also calls for the creation of a superweapon to enforce Imperial order, the result of which was the Death Star. Tarkin's motto was "Reign by the threat of violence rather than the only violence".
Tarkin was once on a trip to the Imperial Training Center of Carida, where he wanted to find a brilliant young tactician who was responsible for new training methods and other sorts of things for the Empire. It took Tarkin some time, but he eventually found the young slicer, who turned out to be a woman named Daala. He whisked her away from Carida and made her part of his staff. After a while, the two began to fall in love. Soon after, Tarkin made her an Admiral in secret, and prepared to give her a mission.
Before that could happen, an officer said that Daala only achieved her position because she was sleeping with Tarkin. Tarkin heard this and flushed him out of the air lock, in a spacesuit, with the comm channel locked open so the rest of the crew could listen to the man's screams and cries for mercy. He then gave Daala four Imperial class Star Destroyers, the Gorgon, the Basilisk, the Manticore and the Hydra. He then sent her to the secret weapons facility in the Maw cluster of black holes near Kessel, where he told her to wait for more orders. Eleven years after Tarkin's death, Daala returned to destroy the New Republic.
Prior to his casting in A New Hope, Peter Cushing was known primarily for his roles in Hammer Horror movies. He was also a close friend (and Hammer costar) of Christopher Lee, who would become a part of the Star Wars universe decades later as the villainous Count Dooku.
Tarkin is a playable character in Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. First seen in a cutscene from Episode IV, Grand Moff Tarkin is available for purchase at the cantina. His weapon is a pistol, along with Han Solo and Admiral Ackbar.
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
- Darth Maul: Saboteur
- Cloak of Deception
- Rogue Planet
- Boba Fett: Pursuit
- Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
- Empire: Betrayal
- Grand Moff Tarkin in the Star Wars Databank
- Wilhuff Tarkin on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
- More information on Tarkin
- Tarkin Facts
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| Characters | Wedge Antilles • C-3PO • Chewbacca • General Jan Dodonna • Greedo • Jabba the Hutt • Jawa • Obi-Wan Kenobi • Beru Lars • Owen Lars • Princess Leia Organa • R2-D2 • Sandpeople • Han Solo • Luke Skywalker • Stormtrooper • Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin • Darth Vader |
| Events | Destruction of Alderaan • Battle of Yavin |
| Planets | Tatooine • Alderaan • Yavin IV |
| Cities | Mos Eisley • Death Star I |
| Starships | Escape Pod • Imperial Landing Craft • Imperial Star Destroyer • Millennium Falcon • Outrider • Rebel Medium Transport • Tantive IV • TIE Advanced x1 • TIE Fighter • X-Wing • Y-Wing |
| Vehicles | Flare-S Swoop • Sandcrawler • T-16 Skyhopper • V-35 Landspeeder • X-34 Landspeeder |