Beginning the countdown of my top 10 characters from “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (7:30 p.m. Central Fridays on Cartoon Network), let’s start with No. 10, the recently introduced Captain Wilhuff Tarkin, who will eventually become the Grand Moff whose “foul stench” Leia recognizes when she is brought onboard the first Death Star.
Thinking back on the original trilogy, it seems like Darth Vader is dismissive of most of his underlings, seeing them as a means to an end, and Force-choking those who most displease him. Then how to explain Tarkin, who openly argues with Vader about the Force, and whom Leia sees as the man who is “holding Vader’s leash?”
In the trilogy of episodes that is currently airing, Tarkin and Anakin are thrown together on a mission and they see eye-to-eye on many things, such as when Tarkin says it’s a shame that the Alcatraz-like Citadel belongs to the Separatists and not the Republic, thus foreshadowing his affinity for the Death Star as an instrument that will keep the citizenry in line. “He has a point,” Anakin tells a disturbed Ahsoka.
For a character so respected by fans, Tarkin has been underused throughout “Star Wars” lore (and in the ultimate bizarre snub, he didn’t make the cut as one of the original 93 Kenner action figures). Because he dies in “A New Hope,” he isn’t used in any stories taking place after that (although a superweapon called The Tarkin appears in a comic during the Marvel run). But even when the prequel era opened up new possibilities, he only appeared briefly in Greg Bear’s post-“Episode I” “Rogue Planet” novel and in one of the final shots of “Revenge of the Sith.”
The situation is being rectified now as we see why the smart and arrogant (often with good reason) Tarkin will make such a devoted servant of the Empire. As a bonus, voice actor Stephen Stanton delivers a crisp British-accented performance that even Peter Cushing’s biggest fans would have to appreciate.
Main image: Lucasfilm