Star Wars: 15 of the best character introductions

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

4. Grand Moff Tarkin – Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Next up, we have Grand Moff Tarkin, who I feel gets overlooked far too often. Probably because he got killed off so quickly.

Grand Moff Tarkin is such a fascinating character who could really do with a lot more back-story. This is a man who is able to control Vader as if he was his own personal lap dog. How does he do it? How does this man have so much control over Vader? What did he do to get so much power?

Now elements to his background have been explained in various TV shows, comics, etc. But if you have only watched the Star Wars movies, which is fine by the way, there is no judgment here, then you don’t really know much about him.

From the very moment he is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope we are under no illusion that he is the one calling the shots, not Vader. And this is after we have been introduced to Vader who had already set a pretty high bar for being the ultimate bad guy in the franchise.

Every scene that involves Tarkin shows that it is not Vader you should be worried about but. A true military tactician who would stop at nothing to complete his mission, he was the one the rebels should fear more of, not Vader. The rebels were honestly lucky that he stayed aboard the Death Star. Could you imagine if he had survived? How much damage would he have caused for them in the future?

His weapon of choice was the most deadly as well. While Vader used the force and his lightsaber, Stormtroopers used their blasters, Tarkin clearly ruled with fear; something which continued with the Rogue One chapter of Star Wars. He made use of his words and left nobody under any uncertainty that he had control over every one of them, including the big massive Lord Vader with the laser sword and choking force skills.