In 2019, Empire magazine selected McFly as the 12th Greatest Movie Character of All Time.[2]
Biography
Marty McFly is the Back to the Future protagonist. Born in Hill Valley, California, he is a part of the McFly family of Irish descent. Little is known about the character's life before the first Back to the Future film, except that he set fire to the living room rug when he was 8 years old (in a statement of Marty's to his future parents).[3] Despite never explicitly being explained in the film, Bob Zemeckis confirmed that Marty met his friend Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown when he was around 14 after hearing that Brown was a dangerous lunatic. Marty wanted to go and see what it was all about for himself. He snuck into Doc's lab and was fascinated by all his inventions. When Doc caught him, he was glad to have someone interested in his work, and their friendship began.[4]
In an alternate timeline shown in Back to the Future Part II, a hand injury has left Marty unable to play the guitar. This injury occurs in 1985 after Marty accepts his school nemesis Douglas J. Needles' challenge to a road race after being labeled a "chicken" and crashes into a Rolls-Royce. In 1885, Biff Tannen's great-grandfather, Buford, goads Marty into a showdown, which Marty wins despite refusing to draw a gun against Buford. Once he returns to 1985, he remembers this event and his great-great-grandfather Seamus McFly's advice and drops out of Needles' challenge, avoiding the collision that would have ruined his prospects for success as a guitarist.
In the first film, Back to the Future, Dr. Brown shows Marty the time machine, in the form of a DeLorean, which he had invented after stealing plutonium (used as fuel for the vehicle's time circuits) from Libyan terrorists, who wanted him to build a nuclear weapon. During this exchange, the enraged terrorists shoot the doctor, and Marty escapes from them in the time machine, accidentally traveling back to 1955. There, he encounters his teenage parents and disrupts how they meet. Marty contacts the 1955 Dr. Brown and, with his help, reunites his parents and travels back to an alternate 1985, where his father, George, is a novelist, and Biff, his father's high school bully, becomes their caretaker. He also discovers that Dr. Brown is still alive because he had worn a bulletproof vest after Marty warned him about his fate in 1955.
In the second film, Back to the Future Part II, Dr. Brown brings Marty and Jennifer to 2015. They had married, and their teenage son, Marty Jr, was arrested, costing the whole McFly family. Jennifer is knocked unconscious by Brown, and Marty (from 1985) disguises himself as his son and comes into contact with the elder Biff. His son is supposed to meet Biff's grandson, Griff, who forces him to commit a crime with Griff and his gang. The disguised Marty prevents this from happening and gets into a hoverboard dash, resulting in Griff and his crew getting arrested instead of Marty Jr. Jennifer, who was left behind, is taken back to her 2015 home by the police after tracing her there using her fingerprints. Marty and Dr. Brown rescue her while, unbeknownst to them, Elder Biff steals their time machine and returns to 1955, where he gives his younger self an Almanac from the future to use for gambling. When they all return to 1985, they discover that Hill Valley is now a dystopia, with Biff becoming extraordinarily rich and corrupt. He had forcefully married Marty's mother, Lorraine, and secretly murdered Marty's father. He also legalized gambling in the process of becoming known as the 'Luckiest Man on Earth.' Marty and Dr. Brown return to 1955 again to steal the Almanac from 1955 Biff, in which they succeed. Dr. Brown, however, is sent to 1885 after lightning strikes the DeLorean. Marty receives a letter from Brown, written on September 1, 1885.
In the third film, Back to the Future Part III, Marty re-contacts 1955 Dr. Brown and informs him of everything that has happened. Together they discover that someone killed the doctor six days after he wrote the letter and that he had hidden the DeLorean in a mineshaft. Together, Marty and Doc (from 1955), dig up the DeLorean. Marty goes back to 1885 in an attempt to save Doc and meets his great-great-grandparents, Seamus and Maggie, and their son, his great-grandfather. He searches for Dr. Brown and finds out he has become a blacksmith. Marty crosses paths with "Mad Dog" Tannen, Biff's great-grandfather, and gets into a brawl with him. While they plan their escape, Marty and Dr. Brown meet Clara Clayton, a teacher, and the doctor falls in love with her. During the festival, "Mad Dog" and Marty agree on a one-on-one showdown Monday morning; however, that is the day Marty is meant to travel back to 1985. During the showdown, Marty defeats "Mad Dog" and proceeds the plan with the doctor. Finally, Dr. Brown decides to stay in 1885 with Clara while Marty travels back to 1985. The time machine is destroyed by an oncoming train, with Marty barely escaping. He reunites with Jennifer and decides not to race Needles, which would have cost him his music career.
Family
In the Back to the Future film franchise, Marty McFly is the youngest of three children of George McFly and Lorraine Baines-McFly. He has a brother, Dave McFly, and a sister, Linda McFly. In addition, he has uncles Milton, Toby, and Joey, as well as aunts Sally and Ellen (Ellen was born in 1956, so the first movie did not feature her). Joey served a prison sentence in 1985, and the court denied his parole again. In the first movie, Lorraine is 17 (nearly 18), Milton is 12, Sally is 6, Toby is 4, and Joey is 1. Ellen was born a year later.
Marty's secondary entourage consists of his girlfriend, Jennifer Parker, and best friend, Emmett Brown, a scientist Marty and Jennifer call "Doc." There is an implication that Marty is ashamed of his family and does not spend much time at home, preferring to hang out with Doc, Jennifer, or the guys in Marty's band, The Pinheads.[3] However, Marty's relationships with his family change after he returns from 1955, with him no longer being alienated by his parents and his father working as a local college professor and a successful novelist in the alternate timeline he inadvertently created. Marty meets his great-great paternal grandparents, Seamus and Maggie, too, when stranded in 1885. He also meets their infant son William, Marty's great-grandfather. Through his interaction with Seamus and Maggie, Marty discovers that Seamus had a brother named Martin, thus Marty's great-great-granduncle, who died after being goaded into a fight and killed in Virginia City, Nevada.
By 2015, Marty married his girlfriend Jennifer and had two children, Martin "Marty" Jr. and Marlene.
Aliases
Marty has had many aliases throughout the Back to the Future series, usually because of meeting his relatives in the past, such as Lorraine mistakenly thinking his name is "Calvin Klein" due to that being Marty's brand of underwear. In the first film, Marty uses the alias "Darth Vader, an extraterrestrial from the Planet Vulcan" while wearing a radiation suit to attempt to coerce George into asking Lorraine out to the dance. In Part III, Marty uses the name "Clint Eastwood" when asked by Maggie McFly and later by Buford Tannen. In Back to the Future: The Game, he uses one of three aliases; "Sonny Crockett," "Harry Callahan," or "Michael Corleone."
Production
Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly in Back to the Future. His view of the movie clashed, however, with that of the director, Robert Zemeckis. While the film was to become a sci-fi comedy (and box office smash hit), Stoltz had read the script from a more serious angle, apparently focusing on the tragic consequences of going back to live a life that was not one's own. Five weeks into shooting, Zemeckis replaced Stoltz with Michael J. Fox.[7][8]
Other appearances
Stage actor Olly Dobson debuted the role of Marty in Back to the Future: The Musical. In the London production, Will Haswell, Glen Facey, and Ben Joyce have since played the character. Casey Likes currently plays him in the Broadway production of the musical.
Japanese pro wrestler Kushida dresses as Marty McFly as part of his ring character.[12]
Related Research Articles
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, it follows Marty McFly (Fox), a teenager accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean automobile built by his eccentric scientist friend Emmett "Doc" Brown (Lloyd), where he inadvertently prevents his future parents from falling in love – threatening his own existence – and is forced to reconcile them and somehow get back to the future.
Back to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale; both wrote the story. It is the sequel to the 1985 film Back to the Future and the second installment in the Back to the Future franchise. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and Thomas F. Wilson with Elisabeth Shue, and Jeffrey Weissman in supporting roles. It follows Marty McFly (Fox) and his friend Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (Lloyd) as they travel from 1985 to 2015 to prevent Marty's son from sabotaging the McFly family's future. When their arch-nemesis Biff Tannen (Wilson) steals Doc's DeLorean time machine and uses it to alter history for his benefit, the duo must return to 1955 to restore the timeline.
Back to the Future Part III is a 1990 American science fiction Western film and the third installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson, and Lea Thompson. The film continues immediately following Back to the Future Part II (1989); while stranded in 1955 during his time travel adventures, Marty McFly (Fox) discovers that his friend Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (Lloyd), trapped in 1885, was killed by Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Wilson), Biff's great-grandfather. Marty travels to 1885 to rescue Doc and return once again to 1985, but matters are complicated when Doc falls in love with Clara Clayton (Steenburgen).
Hill Valley is a fictional town in California that serves as the setting of the Back to the Future trilogy and its animated spin-off series. In the trilogy, Hill Valley is seen in four different time periods – 1885, 1955, 1985, and 2015 – as well as in a dystopian alternate 1985. The films contain many sight gags, verbal innuendos and detailed set design elements, from which a detailed and consistent history of the area can be derived.
Biff Howard Tannen is a fictional character and a major antagonist in the Back to the Future trilogy. Thomas F. Wilson plays Biff in all three films as well as the Universal Studios ride, and voiced the character in the animated series. Aidan Cutler played him in the original West End production of the first film's stage musical adaptation, and Nathaniel Hackmann plays him in the Broadway production. Biff is the main antagonist of the first and second films. Biff's great-grandfather, Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, is the main antagonist of the third.
Eric Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He played Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask (1985), which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.
Back to the Future is an American science fiction comedy franchise created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. The franchise follows the adventures of a high school student, Marty McFly, and an eccentric scientist, Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, as they use a DeLorean time machine to time travel to different periods in the history of the fictional town of Hill Valley, California.
Back to the Future is an animated science-fiction comedy adventure television series for television based on the live-action Back to the Future film trilogy. The show lasted two seasons, each featuring 13 episodes, and ran on CBS from September 14, 1991, to December 26, 1992, with reruns until August 14, 1993. Citing low ratings, CBS cancelled the show after two seasons. It was later rerun on Fox as a part of the FoxBox block from March 22 to August 30, 2003.
Emmett Lathrop Brown, Ph.D., commonly referred to as "Doc Brown", is a fictional scientist character in the Back to the Future franchise. In the world of the franchise, he is the inventor of the world's first and second time machines, the first constructed using a 1981 DeLorean sports car, and the second constructed using a steam engine locomotive.
Back to the Future Part II & III is a 1990 video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System based on the second and third films in the Back to the Future trilogy. The game was produced by Beam Software and published by Acclaim Entertainment under their LJN label.
Back to the Future: The Ride was a simulator ride located at several Universal Destinations & Experiences locations. The first installation opened on May 2, 1991, at the World Expo area of Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida. A second installation opened on June 12, 1993, in the Hollywood Lot area of Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California. A third installation opened on March 31, 2001, in the San Francisco area of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan. Based on the Back to the Future franchise, the ride is a first person adventure that takes place after the events depicted in Back to the Future Part III. Riders engage in a race through time in pursuit of Biff Tannen, who has stolen the DeLorean time machine.
Back to the Future Part II is a 1990 action game based on the 1989 film of the same name. It was developed and published by Image Works for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Master System, and ZX Spectrum. The game has five levels based on scenes from the film, and was criticized as a poor conversion of the film. It was followed by Back to the Future Part III.
In the Back to the Future franchise, the DeLorean time machine is a time travel vehicle constructed from a retrofitted DMC DeLorean. Its time travel ability is derived from the "flux capacitor", a component that allows the car to travel to the past or future. This occurs when the car accelerates to 88 miles per hour and requires 1.21 "jigowatts" of electricity.
Back to the Future: The Game is an episodic graphic adventure video game based on the Back to the Future film franchise. The game was developed and published by Telltale Games as part of a licensing deal with Universal Pictures. Bob Gale, the co-creator, co-writer, and co-producer of the film trilogy, assisted Telltale in writing the game's story. Original actors Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd allowed the developers to use their likenesses in the game for the lead characters Marty McFly and Doc Brown, respectively. Although Lloyd reprises his role as Doc, A. J. LoCascio plays the role of Marty, while Fox later appeared to voice two cameo roles in the final episode, reprising his role as future versions of Marty McFly in addition to playing his forefather William.
Back to the Future is a 1989 video game released by LJN for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game is loosely based on the 1985 film of the same name. A sequel, Back to the Future Part II & III, was released in 1990.
Back to the Future: The Musical is a musical with music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard and a book by Bob Gale. It is adapted from the 1985 film Back to the Future by Robert Zemeckis and Gale. The show features original music, as well as songs featured in the film.
Transformers/Back to the Future is a four-issue crossover comic miniseries from IDW Publishing that debuted in October 2020. The series is a crossover event to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Transformers franchise by Hasbro and the Back to the Future films by Universal Pictures.
The music of the Back to the Future series is composed in conjunction with the development of several feature films and a stage musical, within the Back to the Future franchise created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. All music in the franchise was composed by American composer Alan Silvestri, with The Musical being co-written with Glen Ballard.
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