10 Things You Didn't Know About Grand Moff Tarkin
The enforcing Empire was the ultimate fear factor within the original trilogy. Even though Lord Vader was the face of fear and crushed all Imperial officers who failed him, there was one in particular whom he respected, and he even took commands from him. This, of course, was the nefarious Death Star director, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. Here are ten thing you may not have known about him:
1. He Had A Really Tough Childhood
Tarkin grew up on the planet Eriadu. As a young boy, his parents taught him survival skills in the deep and terrible jungles of that world. He became such a good survivalist and fighter, and he even had his own militia, which he used to protect his own planet, as well as bring forth an uprising.
2. Tarkin Met Palpatine While At Judicial Force Academy
While training at the academy, Tarkin met the Naboo senator Sheev Palpatine, who took a liking to the young officer. Palpatine helped him gain power in the academy, and even encouraged him to become a politician.
3. He Was A Soldier Before He Was A Politician
As mentioned before, Tarkin was a fighter since he was a young boy. He was such a wonderful soldier within the Judicial Forces Academy, and he even served along Jedi throughout several missions. Even though he was a wonderful soldier when the Separatist movement began forming in the Republic, he knew conflict was inevitable, so he took Palpatine's advice and ran for governor of his own planet Eriadu.
4. Palpatine Tested His Loyalty From The Very Beginning
When Palpatine wanted to overthrow Chancellor Valorum, he requested the help of his friend-turned-governor, Tarkin. Valorum wanted to investigate a trade summits, which of course Tarkin did not allow. His loyalty was also tested when Palpatine sent his secret apprentice Count Dooku to see if Tarkin would join the Separatist Alliance, which Tarkin refused, and he remained loyal to the Republic and Palpatine.
5. He Hated The Jedi
While working in the Republic Navy, Tarkin had to fight alongside the Jedi, which he grew to dislike. He believed the Jedi to be weak, as they kept failing to keep the peace in the galaxy. As shown in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, he hated the fact that Jedi were generals in the Republic army. His hatred for the Jedi was so great that he even wrote a letter to Palpatine asking if he could remove the Jedi from the battlefield and any Republic business.
6. He Became The First Moff
After the formation of the Empire, Tarkin was one of the first Republic officers to be selected by the now Emperor Palpatine. The title of Moff was created to rule the Imperial senate, and the very first Moff named by the Emperor was Tarkin himself. He was also one of the overseers of Project Stardust (the Death Star) and took over the battle station around the Battle of Scarif. After his many victories defeating many rebel cells, he was name the very first Grand Moff, granting him authority over entire Outer Rim sectors.
7. He Created The Tarkin Doctrine
"Fear will keep the local systems in line" is a line that Tarkin said in A New Hope,which then became a great political statement, and the principles of the Empire. Tarkin was to restore balance to the Empire through fear, and his beliefs were named the Takin Doctrine, which basically meant to rule the galaxy using fear. This was shown by the Empire via the design of their ships, soldier armor, and, of course, the Death Star.
8. He Died at the age of 64
Tarkin met his demise during the Battle of Yavin, when a Rebel X-wing pilot shot two proton torpedoes through a small exhaust port. Tarkin's overconfidence was his weakness; he was too confident of the might of the Death Star. Tarkin knew the Rebels were basing their attack on a known weak point within the Death Star, yet decided to remain in the battle station as he believed the Rebels could not pull up the attack.
9. Emperor Palpatine Protected Tarkin From Vader
Several of the new canon comic books show that Vader and Tarkin had a hard relationship. Several times, Vader tried to get hostile with Tarkin, yet the Emperor always stopped Vader, and told him that Tarkin had full authority over him. When Vader wanted to prove himself to the Emperor by killing several officers, Palpatine told Vader that he could kill anyone he wanted, except Tarkin, as he needed him.
10. He Secretly Knew Vader Was Anakin Skywalker
In one of the passages from the Tarkin novel by James Luceno, we find out that Tarkin had deduced on his own that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker. Yet he kept it to himself, as he didn't care about the Sith or the Force. Although Tarkin didn't believe in the Force, he respected Vader a lot, as he was the Emperor's enforcer, and he even grew to admire Vader's way of inducing fear within others.
Grand Moff Tarkin was one of the most feared forces within the empire. He was even described by Mon Mothma as a heartless skeleton, held together by the stiffness of his uniform. For the Rebels, he was a force to be reckoned with, yet for the Empire, he was a hero, a leader, and the last person you wanted to see.
Source(s): The Templin Institute