Wilhuff Tarkin is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, introduced in the original 1977 Star Wars film as one of its two main antagonists, alongside Darth Vader. In the film, Tarkin is depicted as the commander of the Death Star, the Galactic Empire's dwarf planet-sized battle station, and one of the highest-ranking officers in the Empire, even outranking Vader. He orders the destruction of the planet Alderaan by the station's superlaser, and is killed at the end of the film, when Luke Skywalker destroys the Death Star.
