Marty McFly

Martin Seamus "Marty" McFly Sr. is the main protagonist of the Back to the Future trilogy. He is the world's second time traveler, the first to travel backwards in time and the first human to travel though time. He was also a high school student at Hill Valley High School in 1985. He is best friends with Dr. Emmett Brown, who unveiled his first working invention to him.

Bio[]

On October 25, 1985, Marty visited Doc's garage, only to discover that neither Doc nor Einstein were there. Marty then proceeded to hook up his guitar to the giant amplifier that Doc had constructed. Marty then turned up the volume and overdrive knobs all the way and played a single "power chord", which resulted in him being suddenly thrown backwards into a bookcase and the speaker being blown out.

Immediately afterwards, Marty received a call, which turned out to be from Doc. He told Marty to meet him at Twin Pines Mall at 1:15 AM in order to assist him with his major breakthrough. He also warned Marty not to hook up into the amplifier due to a "slight possibility of overload", unaware that Marty had already done so. As Marty agreed to meet with Doc, all of the clocks in the garage started chiming 8 AM. Doc then revealed that this was part of an experiment and that the clocks were all exactly 25 minutes slow. Upon realizing that the time was actually 8:25 AM, Marty responded to Doc that he was late for school and headed out the door.

Shortly after arriving at school, Marty met up with Jennifer, who told him not to go through the main entrance as principal Strickland was looking for him and, if he got caught, it would be his fourth tardy slip in a row.

However, as they were trying to sneak their way to class, they got caught by Strickland, who presented them both with tardy slips. After finding out this was because Marty was at Doc's garage, he warned Marty not to hang around with Doc because he believed that Doctor Brown was a "nutcase". Then he noted that Marty's band, The Pinheads, were auditioning for the dance after school. Strickland informed Marty not to waste his time, calling him a slacker and telling him that "no McFly has ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley." Marty responded by saying that history was going to change.

A failed audition[]

After school was over, Marty and his band auditioned for the Battle of the Bands front of three adults and one student in the Hill Valley High School gymnasium. Their audition song was a hard rock version of The Power of Love, but the head judge told them to stop after playing just a short time, saying they were "too darn loud".

After failing the audition, Jennifer tried to convince Marty to send a tape of his band's music to a record company, reminding him of what Doc always said, that if he put his mind to it, he could accomplish anything. But Marty doubted that he could take another rejection, lamenting that he was starting to sound like his father, George. Jennifer, however, insisted that his father wasn't that bad, pointing out that he was letting Marty borrow his car tomorrow night in order to allow them to go camping by the lake that weekend.

At that moment, Marty saw a Toyota 4X4 being delivered to Statler Toyota and vowed that someday, he would purchase that car. They briefly discussed how romantic it would be to ride in that car up to the lake. Jennifer then asked Marty about whether he had told his mother about their plans, to which Marty replied that he did not. Instead, he told her that he was going camping with friends, in order to avoid another lecture about how she didn't do such things in her youth, jokingly remarking that his mother was born a nun. Jennifer stated that his mother was just trying to keep him respectable, to which he responded by saying that she wasn't doing a good job and closing in for a kiss.

However, before they could kiss, they were interrupted by a lady who represented the Hill Valley Preservation Society, who asked them for a contribution to keep the broken clock tower as is and impede Mayor Wilson in his plans to replace the clock. An irritated Marty donated a quarter to appease her and was, in turn, handed a flyer.

After the woman left, Marty and Jennifer tried to kiss again, only to be interrupted once more. This time by Jennifer's father, who had come to pick her up. As Jennifer prepared to leave, Marty promised to call her. Jennifer was going to be at her grandmother's house that evening, so she wrote down her grandmother's telephone number (555-4823), along with "I love you!", on the back of his "Save the Clock Tower" flyer.

Dinner with the family[]

Upon arriving back home, Marty discovered that his father's car had been totaled by George's supervisor, Biff Tannen, who had wrecked the car whilst drinking and driving. Biff, however, blamed George by claiming the car had a blind spot, and forced him to pay up to have his suit dry-cleaned as he had spilt beer over himself in the crash.

After telling George to finish up Biff's reports and hand them over to him the following day, Biff left. Marty confronted his father about the fact that his plans for tomorrow night had been ruined and that Biff was to blame. George conceded that Marty was right, but stated that Biff was his supervisor and that he wasn't very good at confrontations. All he could say was that he was sorry.

Later, at dinner, Marty was told by George that he was better off without having to worry about all the aggravation and headaches of playing at the dance, to which his brother Dave agreed. Marty and his siblings were then informed by their mother that their uncle, "Jailbird" Joey, didn't make parole again and she said it would be nice if they all dropped him a line. After Dave left for work, Marty was told by his sister Linda that, while he was outside pouting over the car, Jennifer had called him twice.

This prompted their mother Lorraine to remark that she didn't like Jennifer, stating that any girl who called a boy was just asking for trouble. After Linda asked how she was supposed to meet someone, Lorraine replied that it would simply just happen, retelling the story of she fell in love with their father after he was hit by her father's car and how they had their first kiss at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance the following week.

The World's first temporal displacement[]

Shortly after midnight, a sleeping Marty was awoken at 12:28 AM by a phone call from Doc, who asked whether Marty had fallen asleep, which Marty denied. Doc then told Marty that he had forgotten to bring his video camera and asked Marty to pick it up on his way to the mall, which he agreed to do.

Upon arriving at the mall at 1:16 AM, technically one minute late, Marty saw Doc's van at the parking lot and made his way towards it. After petting Einstein, who was sitting near the van, Marty witnessed the van open up and a DeLorean DMC-12 emerge from it. Doc, after exiting the DeLorean, was happy see that Marty had made it to the mall. Doc explained that his latest experiment was "the big one", the one which he had been waiting for all his life. Although Marty had several questions, Doc promised to answer them all later and told him to start filming the demonstration.

After introducing himself, the location and the exact date and time, Doc placed Einstein into the car and showed Marty that his and Einstein's clock were the same time (at that moment 1:19 AM). With a remote control device, Doc operated the car from a distance and sent it to the far end of the parking lot. Marty and Doc then ran to a spot where the car would intersect them. He then revved it up to 62 mph with the brakes on and released the brakes. As the car accelerated towards them, Marty began to step out of the way, but was then pulled back by Doc, who told him to "watch this". At precisely 88 mph, at precisely 1:20:00, the car seemingly exploded into dust and fire trails blazed around Doc and Marty at their feet.

Marty looked in shock as the license plate, OUTATIME, spun and landed, believing that Einstein was vaporized. Doc explained to him that Einstein was fine and had just become the world's first time traveler, having been sent exactly one minute into the future. Marty then questioned the idea of building a time machine out of a DeLorean, to which Doc replied that if one was going to build a time machine into a car, then why not do it with some style. Doc also mentioned that the stainless steel construction of the vehicle was beneficial in some way to the flux dispersal, but didn't get to fully explain as his watch beeped, signaling that the DeLorean was going to return in a few seconds.

The car suddenly appeared where Marty and Doc had been standing and screeched to a halt as a frozen shell. Supercooled from traveling through time, the gullwing door was troublesome for Doc to open while using his hands. Inside the car, Einstein was unharmed, much to the surprise of Marty. The two clocks were exactly one minute in difference as well (1:20 and 1:21 AM) and Einstein's was still ticking. Doc then showed Marty the interior and its controls.

While inputting dates on the keypad, Doc used July 4, 1776 (the date the American Declaration of Independence was signed) and December 25, 0000 (the date of the birth of Christ) as examples, before inputting "a red-letter date in the history of science", November 5, 1955. Doc then explained that, on that day, he was hanging up a clock whilst standing on the edge of his toilet, slipped on the wet porcelain, hit his head on the sink and, when he came to, had a revelation, a picture in his head of the Flux Capacitor, which is what made time travel possible. From there, he left the cockpit of the DeLorean and reminisced about the past, particularly about Old Man Peabody owning the land that was now Twin Pines Mall and his pine tree farm.

Marty then asked Doc whether the car ran on regular unleaded gasoline, to which Doc replied that the car required something more powerful, namely plutonium. Marty, slightly panicked, then asked Doc if the car was nuclear, which Doc denied, saying that the car was electrical, but that a nuclear reaction was required in order to generate the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity needed for time travel. Marty then pointed out that one couldn't just walk into a store and buy plutonium and asked Doc whether he had ripped it off. Doc revealed that he had, from a group of Libyan Nationalists. He explained that they wanted him to build them a bomb, but instead he gave them a shiny bomb case filled with used pinball machine parts. Afterwards, Marty and Doc donned radiation suits and inserted another vial of plutonium into the plutonium chamber in preparation for Doc's own jump into the future.

Upon learning that Doc intended to travel 25 years into the future, Marty asked him to come look him up when he got there, which Doc promised he would.

Escape to the Past[]

However, before Doc got the chance to depart, Einstein's barking alerted him and Marty to an approaching van in the distance, revealing that the Libyans had found him. As the Libyans opened fire on them, Marty was told to run for it whilst Doc would draw their fire. Unfortunately, Doc's pistol jammed and he was subsequently shot with an assault rifle by the terrorists.

Horrified by Doc's death, Marty inadvertendly drew the terrorists' attention towards himself by yelling at them and was nearly gunned down. Fortunately, the terrorists' gun jammed, giving Marty enough time to run into the DeLorean and try to escape.

During the chase, Marty accidentally turned on the time circuits (still set to November 5, 1955) while shifting, and, as he avoided being destroyed by a rocket-propelled grenade, he sped up to 88 and entered temporal displacement. Suddenly, Marty went from a mall parking lot in 1985, to a field in 1955, and the DeLorean crashed into a scarecrow and then the Peabodys' barn.

For a moment, Marty was stunned, and the Peabody family ran from their house to the barn to investigate. Believing that the vehicle was from another world, they screamed in horror as Marty lifted the gullwing door and stepped out, dressed in a radiation suit. Marty was almost shot from the buckshot of Peabody's shotgun, ran back to the safety of the time machine, floored the accelerator, and smashed through the doors of the barn. After escaping from Peabody's shotgun, the car ran over one of the two pines that Peabody had been growing. This was the first effect of Marty's trip into the past that would alter the future ("Twin Pines Mall" would become "Lone Pine Mall").

Marty pulled the DeLorean onto a highway that ran by the future site of Lyon Estates. He immediately stopped and viewed the undeveloped land stretch far out into the distance, questioning whether or not it was a dream. A meter in the DeLorean indicated that it was out of plutonium, and the car shut down. Marty failed to get it running again and decided to hide the DeLorean behind the Lyon Estates sign, covered by a few shrubs, and walked the two miles to town.

Rewriting History[]

Upon arriving into town, where he discovered the date on a newspaper, Marty went inside Lou's Cafe. After a brief exchange in which Lou mistook Marty's down vest for a life preserver, Marty said he wanted to use the phone, and Lou pointed him towards the back. After finding Doc's name and address in the phone book, Marty ripped out the page. However, when he tried to ask Lou for directions to the address, an annoyed Lou asked him whether he was gonna order something. Taking a seat, Marty first tried to order a Tab, but Lou mistakenly thought he wanted a restaurant bill. Marty then tried to order a Pepsi Free, and Lou misinterpreted it as him asking for a free Pepsi. Frustrated, Marty simply asked for something without any sugar in it.

At that moment, Biff Tannen and his gang entered the cafe and started bullying George, who had been sitting next to Marty. Marty witnessed a very familiar conversation in which Biff made George promise to finish Biff's homework and hand it over to him the following morning. During this exchange, one of the members of Biff's gang, Skinhead, noticed Marty's vest and, thinking it was a life preserver, mockingly suggested that Marty thought he was gonna drown. After Biff left, Marty stared at George, prompting George to ask him who he was. However, their conversation was interrupted by Goldie Wilson, one of Lou's employers, who told George to stand up for himself. Goldie used himself as an example, stating that he was going to night school and, one day, be somebody. This prompted Marty to accidentally say that Goldie was gonna be mayor, which seemed to inspire Goldie. Marty then noticed that George had left the cafe and was riding away on his bike, and chased after him.

Marty eventually managed to track George down and found him up a tree, watching Lorraine Baines undress through his binoculars. Marty remarked disapprovingly that George was a "peeping tom" and watched as George lost his grip and nearly fell. George then dropped to the street in the path of an oncoming car. Marty then ran towards George and pushed him out of the way, getting hit by the car instead and falling unconscious.

Marty woke up almost 9 hours later, initially assuming that he was back at home and that his recent time traveling had been a dream. However, he quickly discovered that he really was in 1955 when a young Lorraine turned on the lights and referred to him as "Calvin". After briefly making note of Lorraine's thinnes and discovering that she had removed his pants, Marty asked her why she kept calling him Calvin. She stated that she saw the name "Calvin Klein" printed all over his underwear and assumed it was his name. He stated that people called him Marty, which made Lorraine assume that "Calvin Marty Klein" was his full name. Over the course of their conversation, Lorraine had been repeatedly flirting with Marty, much to his alarm. Fortunately, Lorraine's mother, Stella, called out to her, prompting Lorraine to toss Marty his pants and run out of the room, allowing him to put them back on.

As Marty came downstairs from Lorraine's bedroom, her mother asked how long he would be in port, and that she guessed he was a sailor because he wore a life preserver. Since she was the third person that day who had mistaken his red down vest for a life preserver, Marty mentioned the Coast Guard as an alibi.

During dinner with Lorraine's family, Marty confused them by first by saying that his family owned two television sets, which was unusual in 1955, and then by claiming to have already seen the episode of The Honeymooners ("The Man from Space") on TV even though it was brand new. When Lorraine's mother remarked that he looked very familiar, she asked him whether she knew his mother. Marty claimed that she did indeed know his mother, but when she suggested calling, he said that nobody was home. Marty then asked for directions to Riverside Drive. Upon being told the directions, Marty remarked that the street's name was "John F. Kennedy Drive", which confused Lorraine's father.

Lorraine then suggested that, since Marty's parents were out of town, he should spend the night at their house. However, when she suggested that he could sleep in her room and started stroking his leg, Marty quickly got up, told them he had to go, thanked them for their hospitality and then left.

Convincing Doc[]

Upon arriving at Doc's mansion and knocking on the door, Marty was dragged inside the house by a young Doc, who wished to test his latest invention on him. Although Marty tried to explain who he was, Doc insisted that he not tell him anything about himself in order to test the effectiveness of the device. After Doc had made several guesses regarding where Marty came from and why he was here, Marty finally explained who he really was and that he needed Doc's help to return to 1985.

However, Doc, after expressing frustration at his invention seemingly not working, did not believe Marty's claims of being a time traveler. Marty tried to convince him by showing that the expiry date of his driver's license was 1987 and that, according to his birthday, he hadn't even been born yet. Marty then showed him a photograph of him and his siblings, pointing out that his sister's sweatshirt read "class of '84". Unfortunately, Doc dismissed the picture as mediocre "photographic fakery", stating that they had cut off his brother's hair.

When Marty insisted that Doc believe him, Doc asked who was gonna be President of the United States in 1985. Marty answered that it was gonna be Ronald Reagan, but Doc scoffed at the idea that an actor was gonna be President. Marty then pursued Doc as the latter ran towards his garage, mockingly suggesting that various celebrities would similarly be in government positions by 1985.

Fortunately, Marty finally managed to convince Doc by telling him the story of how he got the bruise on his head earlier that day and had a vision of the Flux Capacitor. The two then went out to recover the DeLorean. After Doc showed Marty the picture he drew of the flux capacitor after he hit his head, Marty opened the car door and turned on the flux capacitor, which resulted in Doc being overjoyed at the knowledge that he had finally invented something that worked. The two then snuck the car back into Doc's laboratory and started formulating a plan to get Marty back home.

Formulating a Plan[]

Upon returning to Doc's lab, Marty hooked up his camcorder to Doc's television and they watched the tape of the events at Twin Pines Mall. Whilst watching the tape, Doc asked what his older self was wearing, which Marty explained was a radiation suit, causing Doc to incorrectly assume that it was due to fallout from atomic wars. Shortly after, Doc was horrified when the recording of his future self explained that the flux capacitor required 1.21 gigawatts to function and ran into his study.

Marty followed Doc, who was sitting in his chair and lamenting his carelessness in making the flux capacitor require so much electricity. Marty remarked that all they needed was a little plutonium, but Doc stated that plutonium was hard to come by in 1955 and regretfully told Marty that he was stuck in this time period. Marty, however, refused to accept that, informing Doc about his girlfriend Jennifer and showing him the back of his flyer on which she had written her message and her grandmother's phone number.

Doc replied that the only source of electricity capable of generating that much power would be a bolt of lightning, but lamented that nobody ever knew when or where lightning would strike. Marty then remembered that the flyer also featured the news story about a bolt of lightning that would strike the clock tower on Saturday night, November 12, 1955, on 10:04 PM.

Doc believed that he could find a way to harness the bolt's power, channel it into the flux capacitor and ultimately send Marty back to 1985. An excited Marty then suggested that Doc could perhaps show him around town while he waited. However, Doc stopped him mid-sentence and insisted stay inside of his house during the week ahead. He explained that Marty had to avoid contact with anyone else, as everything he did could have serious repercussions on future events. After Doc asked Marty if he had interacted with anyone else that day besides him, Marty admitted that he had run into his parents. Doc then rechecked the photograph of Marty and his siblings, and realized that the head of the firstborn son Dave, was missing, having been erased from existence.

Discovering a Paradox[]

The following day, Marty and Doc went to Hill Valley High School in order to think up a plan to get George and Lorraine to fall in love. After Marty remarked that the school was cleaner and looked brand new compared to his time, Doc explained his theory that Marty's interference in his parents' first meeting had resulted in his existence being jeopardized, with Dave disappearing first, then Linda and finally Marty himself if they didn't think of a plan. Marty remarked that the situation was "Heavy", confusing Doc, who remarked that weight had nothing to do with it.

They later saw George in the hallway, being bullied by his classmates and subsequently berated and called a slacker by Principal Strickland, who, Marty remarked, didn't seem to have ever had hair, aside from a small fringe which he no longer had by 1985.

After being asked by Doc what Lorraine ever saw in George, Marty guessed that she felt sorry for him after her father hit George with his car. Doc identified it as a Florence Nightingale effect, which happened in hospitals when nurses fell in love with their patients. After receiving brief encouragement from Doc, Marty went up to George and formally introduced himself.

Marty then tried to introduce George to Lorraine, but unfortunately Lorraine didn't pay any attention to George, instead showing interest in Marty and asking him whether his head still hurt. Marty said that it didn't and Lorraine told him she hadd been worried ever since her ran off the other night. Lorraine then asked him if he was okay, but before Marty could answer, the school bell rang and Lorraine had to leave.

Marty was then informed by Doc, who had been observing their conversation from a distance, that the situation was more serious than they previously thought. Doc explained that Lorraine was now infatuated with Marty instead of his father, much to Marty's discomfort. Doc stated that the only way for George and Lorraine to get together was if they were alone together and suggested that Marty had to get them to interact at some sort of social event, like a date. Unfortunately, Marty had no idea how to arrange a date for them, as he didn't know what people in the '50s did. Doc remarked that Marty, being their son, had to know his parents on at least some level. After being asked by Doc what his parents' common interests were and what they liked to do together, Marty answered that, as far as he knew, they had nothing in common.

Fortunately, Doc then saw a poster of the upcoming Enchantment Under the Sea dance, which Marty recalled was where George and Lorraine had their first kiss. Marty was then instructed by Doc to stick to his father like glue and make sure he took Lorraine to the dance.

Playing Matchmaker[]

Marty sat with George in the cafeteria and tried to talk with him about Lorraine, but then noticed that George was writing something and asked him what it was. George revealed that he was writing science fiction stories about visitors coming down to Earth from other planets, which surprised Marty, as he had no idea his father ever did anything creative. Marty asked if he could read some of them, but George refused and said that he never let anybody read his stories. Curious, Marty asked him why not, and George revealed that he feared that his stories wouldn't be liked and being told that he wasn't any good at writing. After George stated that such a thing would be pretty hard for somebody to understand, Marty, understanding how George felt, stated that it was not hard at all.

Marty then switched the topic back to Lorraine, telling George that she really liked him and had told Marty to tell George that she wanted him to ask her to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, much to George's surprise. Marty told George that all he had to do was go up to her and ask her. But George was hesitant, worried that she might say no and unsure if he could take that kind of rejection.

George then noted that he thought Lorraine would rather go with somebody else, pointing towards Biff, who was harassing her. Angered, Marty walked up to Biff and forcibly seperated him from Lorraine, telling him to get his hands off of her. Although slightly intimidated by Biff's height, Marty was still willing to fight against him. Fortunately, Strickland's presence prevented a fight from breaking out, with Biff saying that he was cutting Marty a break since he was new and telling him to get out of there. Marty then realized that George had left during the commotion.

Marty pursued George as he was on his way home, which prompted an annoyed George to ask him why he was following him around. Marty stated that if George did not ask Lorraine out to the dance, he would regret it for the rest of his life. But George insisted that he couldn't go to the dance, stating that he would miss his favorite television program, Science Fiction Theatre.

Marty insisted that Lorraine wanted to go with him and asked George to give her a break. George, however, insisted that he was not ready to ask Lorraine out to the dance and that not Marty or anybody else on the planet could make him change his mind. Looking at his family picture, Marty saw that Dave had almost completely faded away. Fortunately, the mention of Science Fiction Theatre did give Marty an idea.

Marty devised a plan to scare George into taking Lorraine to the dance, donning his radiation suit, a hair dryer, and his Walkman with a tape of Eddie Van Halen. Marty visited George in the middle of the night, waking him up by putting headphones on him and playing the tape. Marty claimed that he was "Darth Vader", an extraterrestrial from the "planet Vulcan". Marty threatened to melt George's brain if he did not ask out Lorraine, which finally caused George to agree to ask her out. Marty then used chloroform to put George to sleep, unfortunately, this caused George to oversleep for most of the next day.^[9]

Skateboard Chase[]

That afternoon, Marty saw a shaken George run towards him in Courthouse Square, and remarked that he hadn't been at school. After George told him of his encounter and that he had overslept, Marty told George to keep the "Darth Vader" story to himself and told him that Lorraine was in Lou's Cafe. Approaching the cafe, Marty pointed out Lorraine and told George to just go in there and invite her. George was willing, but didn't know what to say. Marty told him to just say anything, whatever's natural, the first thing that came to his mind. But George replied that nothing was coming to his mind, prompting Marty to reply that it was a wonder he was ever born, to George's confusion. Marty then told George to tell Lorraine that destiny had brought them together and that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Marty then noticed that George was writing down what he was saying, referring to it as "good stuff".

Marty then sent George inside of the cafe and watched him as he was asking out Lorraine. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by Biff, who remarked that he had earlier told George never to come in there and demanded that George pay him for doing so. As Biff was walking towards George, Marty tripped him. After Biff stood back up and started threatening him, Marty distracted him by pointing to something supposedly behing him. As soon as Biff looked, Marty punched him in the face and knocked down his gang as he ran outside.

Once outside, Marty ran to a couple of children on soapbox scooters, borrowing one and pulling off the crate to create a makeshift skateboard. Marty was nearly caught by Biff and his gang, but managed to grab onto the back of a passing truck. However, Biff and his gang managed to catch up in Biff's car and tried to ram Marty into the truck, forcing him to move to the side. Unfortunately, Marty saw that a man was getting out of his car in Marty's path. This forced Marty to take a right turn to the steps of the Courthouse and caused him to crash into a man and a woman who had exitted the building. Although Marty quickly managed to get back on the skateboard, Biff and his gang caught up to him, which resulted in Marty holding onto the front bumper of Biff's car. Marty held onto the car as Biff drove it back onto the street and towards a manure truck, intending to ram Marty into it. Fortunately, Marty managed to escape by running up on the car's hood, over the seats and jumping down onto the skateboard as it passed underneath the car. The resulting confusion resulted in Biff and his gang crashing into the manure truck. Afterwards, Marty gave the skateboard back to the children, thanking them for letting him borrow it.

Finalizing Plans[]

Marty returned to Doc's lab and found him rewatching the tape of the events at Twin Pines Mall. Doc quickly turned it off upon realizing that Marty was there, remarking that it was a fascinating device. Marty then tried to tell Doc about what happened that night after they made that tape, but Doc insisted that Marty not tell him, stating that no man should know too much about their own destiny. Marty said that Doc didn't understand, but Doc insisted that he did. Doc stated that if he knew too much about his own future, he could endanger his own existence the same way that Marty had endangered his, to which Marty agreed.

Marty then watched as Doc showed him his plan for sending him home. Doc apologized for the crudity of the model, noting that he didn't have time to build it to scale or paint it, although Marty assured him that the model was good.

Doc explained that they would run some industrial strength electrical cable from the top of the clocktower down to suspending it over the street between two lamp posts. Meanwhile, Doc had outfitted the vehicle with a big pole and hook which ran directly into the flux capacitor. At the calculated moment, Marty would start off from down the street driving toward the cable accelerating to 88 miles per hour. According to the flyer, at precisely 10:04 PM that Saturday night, lightning would strike the clocktower, electrifying the cable just as the connecting hook made contact, thereby sending the necessary 1.21 gigawatts into the flux-capacitor, sending Marty back to 1985.

Marty was then given a toy car by Doc to help with the demonstration by winding and releasing it from down the street while Doc simulated the lightning by hooking up to a power source and pointing an alligator clip to the pole at top of the clocktower. The result was an explosion at the model table, which set the toy car on fire. The toy car then drove off the table and towards a large cloth, setting it on fire. Marty watched as Doc gasped in panic and ran to put out the fire with an extinguisher, sarcastically remarking that Doc instilled him with a lot of confidence. Doc, however, told him not to worry, saying that he would take care of the lightning and Marty should take care of his father. Doc then asked Marty how things went that day and whether George had asked Lorraine out. Marty said that he thought so and Doc asked him what she had said. However, at that moment, they heard a knock at the door.

After Doc checked the door and stated that it was Lorraine, Marty helped him cover up the DeLorean. After Doc let Lorraine in, Marty asked her how she knew he was there. Lorraine revealed that she had followed him and Marty quickly introduced Doc to her as his uncle. Lorraine then asked Marty if he would ask her to the dance. Confused, Marty asked if nobody had asked her, which she confirmed. Marty then asked her about George, and Lorraine admitted that, although she thought he was kinda cute, she believed a man should be strong in order to stand up for himself and protect the woman he loved. She asked him if he agreed, and Marty awkwardly answered yes.

Later on, Marty visited George at his house and made a plan to get him and Lorraine together. George complained that he still didn't understand how he was supposed to go to the dance with her if she was already going to the dance with Marty. Marty replied that Lorraine did want to go to the dance with George, but just didn't know it yet. He explained that they had to show her that George was a fighter, somebody who was gonna stand up for himself and protect her. George, however, pointed out that he had never picked a fight in his entire life. Marty corrected him by explaining that he was not gonna be picking a fight, but instead would be coming to Lorraine's rescue.

They then went over the plan again. At 8:55 PM, George would be at the dance and Marty would be in the car with Lorraine. Around 9:00 PM, she was gonna get very angry with Marty. George questioned why she would be angry with him and Marty explained that nice girls get angry when guys take advantage of them. Surprised, George asked if Marty was planning to get physical with Lorraine, but Marty assured him that it would all be just an act and then continued explaining the plan. At 9:00 PM, George would be strolling through the parking lot, see them struggling in the car, walk up to it, open the door and say his line. Marty then reminded George of his line, which he then said. George questioned him on whether he ought to swear and Marty stated that he definitely should before continuing. George would come up, punch Marty in the stomach, laying him out for the count, and he and Lorraine would live happily ever after.

George remarked that Marty made it sound so easy, but said that he wished that he wasn't so scared. Marty encouraged him by saying that there was nothing to be afraid of and that all it took was a little self-confidence. Marty then repeated Doc's phrase, telling George that if he put his mind to it, he could accomplish anything.

Final Preparations[]

On the night of November 12, 1955, Marty and Doc were at Courthouse Square, making final preparations for Marty's date with Lorraine and his return trip to 1985 respectively. Marty was changing clothes and borrowing Doc's car while Doc was setting up the cable and DeLorean. Doc questioned Marty on whether he was sure about the storm after hearing the radio predict a mostly clear night with some scattered clouds, which prompted Marty to ask since when the weatherman could predict the weather, let alone the future.

Marty was then told by Doc how would be very sad to see him go, as Marty had really made a difference in his life and given him something to shoot for. Doc expressed happiness at knowing that he would be around to see 1985, succeed at building a time machine and have a chance to travel through time. He continued by saying that it was going to be really hard to wait 30 years to talk to Marty about everything that had happened within the past few days. He then told Marty that he was really going to miss him, Marty replied that he was really going to Doc as well before once more trying to tell him about the future.

Unfortunately, Doc still refused to hear about it, stating that they had already agreed that having information about the future could be extremely dangerous. He stated that even if Marty's intentions were good, they could backfire drastically. Doc then told him that whatever Marty had to tell him, he would find out through the natural course of time.

Later, in Lou's Cafe, Marty wrote a letter to Doc on a stationary, warning him that, on the night Marty went back in time, he would be shot by terrorists. He instructed him to take whatever precautions necessary to prevent this terrible disaster. He then sealed the letter in an envelope marked Do not open until 1985. Marty then placed the letter in Doc's coat pocket and left to go pick up Lorraine.

The Big Date[]

Marty drove Lorraine to the school parking lot and nervously asked her whether she would mind if they parked for awhile. To Marty's surprise, Lorraine said that it was a great idea and stated that she loved to park. Noticing Marty's confusion, Lorraine remarked that she was almost 18 and revealed to him that she had, in fact, parked before. Lorrained then noted that Marty seemed nervous and asked if something was wrong, which he denied. Marty then saw Lorraine drink a bottle of whiskey and quickly took it from her, asking her what she was doing. Lorraine said that she had swiped it from her mother's liquor cabinet, prompting Marty to state that she shouldn't drink. Lorraine asked him why not and Marty answered that she might regret it later in life. Lorraine told Marty to not be such a square and that everybody who was anybody drank, which prompted Marty to take a gulp from the bottle. However, he then noticed her lighting a cigarette, who caused him to spit the whiskey back out and exclaim his surprise at her smoking as well, prompting Lorraine to remark that Marty was beginning to sound just like her mother.

Lorraine then said that, when she had children, she would allow them do anything they wanted, anything at all. This prompted to Marty to remark that he would like to have that in writing. Marty then saw that Lorraine had taken off her coat, showing a low-cut dress, and quickly looked away. When Lorraine finally asked him why he was so nervous, Marty asked her if she had ever been in a situation where she had to act a certain way but when she got there, she didn't know if she could go through with it. Lorraine thought he meant how he was supposed to act on a first date, which Marty nervously said was sort of the case. She stated that she knew exactly what he meant and asked him if he knew what she did in those situations. Marty asked her what it was that she did, she replied that she didn't worry and kissed him, much to his panic.

Fortunately, Lorraine quickly broke the kiss and backed away, saying that it was all wrong. She said that she didn't know what it was, but when kissing Marty, she felt like she was kissing her brother. She remarked that it didn't make any sense, but Marty assured her that it made perfect sense.

At that moment, Lorraine told him that someone was coming. The car door was opened and Marty was roughly pulled out of the car by a drunk and angry Biff, who accused him of causing 300 dollars damage to his car and that he was gonna take it out on him. Marty was then restrained by Biff's gang while Biff started forcing himself on Lorraine in the car, ordering the gang to take Marty out back and that he would be there soon. Marty was then punched in the stomach by Match and subsequently carried away and locked up in the trunk of a Cadillac. Fortunately, the car belonged to Reginald, the drummer of the Starlighters, who had been having a smoke break along with the rest of the band inside the car. After the musicians chased Biff's gang off, Marty informed them that the keys were inside of the trunk, which forced their lead vocalist, Marvin Berry, to pry open the trunk with a screwdriver instead. Although they eventually managed to open the trunk, Marvin badly cut his left hand in the process.

Finally free, Marty tossed the keys to Reginald and ran back to the car, arriving just in time to witness George knocking Biff out with one punch, finally standing up to a bully for the first time in his life. He then saw George help Lorraine off the ground and escort her inside of the school. Checking his family photograph, Marty discovered that his existence was still in danger, as Linda was disappearing as well, and quickly ran back to the band. Upon finding them, Marty told them that they had to go back inside and finish the dance, but they told him that Marvin couldn't play the guitar due to his injured hand and they couldn't play without him. However, Marty insisted that they had to play, otherwise he would be history. But Marvin stated that the dance was over, unless Marty knew someone else who could play the guitar.

Mission Accomplished[]

Marty joined the dance band onstage to ensure his future existence, providing a romantic atmosphere for his parents so they could kiss. All was almost lost, however, when Mark Dixon jumped in between George and Lorraine, with Marty forgetting how to play the guitar and starting to fade away much like his brother and sister in the photo. George, however, returned and pushed Dixon away, finally kissing Lorraine and restoring Marty and his siblings back into existence.

His existence assured, Marty finished the song. Although Marvin asked him to do another one, Marty said that he had to go. However, he was quickly pursuaded to do another one and announced to the audience that the song was an oldie, at least where he came from. Marty then explained to the band that the song was a Blues Riff in B and that they had to watch him for the changes and try to keep up. Marty then started playing "Johnny B. Goode". While Marty was playing the song, Marvin phoned his cousin, Chuck Berry, who at the time was looking for a "new sound", Marvin held the phone out for Chuck to hear the performance. At that moment, Marty started doing Chuck's famous "duckwalk" and started imitating other famous guitarists from his time, tapping his guitar like Eddie Van Halen, kicking the amplifier like Pete Townshend and contorting himself on the ground like Angus Young, before finally finishing on one last high note. Realizing the audience had stopped dancing and were now staring at him, Marty said that he guessed that they weren't ready for that kind of music yet, but remarked that their kids were gonna love it.

While trying to leave backstage, Marty encountered Lorraine and George, with Lorraine remarking that that was very interesting music. She said that she hoped Marty didn't mind, but George had asked if he could take her home, which Marty said was great, remarking that he had a feeling about the two of them. After Lorraine happily told him that she had a feeling too, Marty said that he had to go, but wanted to tell them that the experience had been educational. Lorraine asked him if they would ever see him again, and Marty guaranteed that they would. Marty was then thanked by George for all his good advice, telling him that he would never forget it. Marty wished them good luck and almost left, but then turned back around and asked them that, if they ever had children, and one of them accidentally set fire to the living room rug when he was eight years old, they go easy on him. After George promised him that they would, Marty finally left.

Back to the Future[]

As the storm began to move in, Marty rushed to get back downtown. Upon finally arriving, Marty was chastised by Doc for being late, who asked him if he had no concept of time. Marty, however, justified being late by saying that he had to change clothes, refusing to go back in a "zoot suit". He then informed Doc that George really came through and that the plan worked. Marty happily explained that George had laid Biff out in one punch and said that he never knew he had it in him, as he had never stood up to Biff in his life. At that moment, a worried Doc examined Marty's family photograph, questioning whether George truly had never stood up to Biff. Marty said no and asked Doc what was the matter, but Doc ignored the question and simply gave him back the photograph.

Marty watched as Doc set the destination time to the same time that Marty left, making it like he never left at all. Doc then explained that he painted a white line further down the street and, having calculated the distance, acceleration speed and wind resistance retroactive from the moment the lightning would strike at exactly 7 minutes and 22 seconds, put a clock in the DeLorean which, when the alarm would go off, would signal Marty to hit the gas. After exchanging thanks and a hug, Doc said that he would see Marty in about 30 years, to which Marty replied that he hoped so. However, Marty was then told by Doc not to worry, as he assured him that as long as he hit the wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88 miles per hour at the same time that the lightning would strike the tower, everything would be fine.

Unfortunately, right after Marty got in the car, Doc discovered the letter in his coat pocket. Doc demanded to know what the meaning of it was and Marty replied by saying that he'd find out in about 30 years. Marty was then berated by Doc for trying to give him information about the future, who then remarked that he had already warned Marty about this and that the consequences could be disastrous. Marty insisted that it was a risk that Doc would have to take as his life depended on it, but Doc stated that he refused to accept the responsibility and tore up the letter. Marty then said that he was gonna tell it to Doc straight out, however, a tree branch then fell on the cable, disconnecting it from the clock tower.

Marty was then instructed by Doc to get the cable while Doc himself would go up to the clock tower and throw a rope down to him. After getting the cable, Marty waited until Doc finally got up to the clock tower and threw him the rope, which he then tied around the cable and told Doc to pull up. Marty then made one final attempt to tell Doc about the future by yelling the information at him. Unfortunately, Doc could not hear him over sound of the storm. At that moment, the bell tolled, momentarilly causing Doc to lose his balance and hang off of one of the gargoyle statues. After seeing Doc regain his balance, Marty was told by him to go, but was hesitant to do so. Finally, Marty left when Doc pointed out that he had less than 4 minutes, telling him to hurry.

While Doc fixed the line, Marty jumped in the DeLorean and headed to the starting line. After arriving at the starting line and setting up the connecting hook, Marty lamented not having enough time to save Doc. However, he then realized that the time machine afforded him all the time he wanted and he set the arrival time for ten minutes earlier to save Doc. Unfortunatly, at that moment, the car died. Fortunately, shortly after the alarm went off, Marty managed to get the DeLorean back running and took off. In a race to reach the poles, Doc connected the line at exactly 10:04 PM and Marty attached to the line, sending him back to 1985.

Return to 1985[]

Doc's Decision[]

Arriving back in 1985, Marty crashed into the front of the Town Theater. Driving out of the theater and back onto the road, Marty happily confirmed that he he had successfully returned. After confirming the time, he tried to drive to the mall to warn Doc, but the DeLorean died on him again. After seeing the Libyans drive past him, Marty had no choice but to run to the mall.

Upon arriving at Lone Pines Mall, Marty witnessed Doc being shot and his other self travel to 1955, which resulted in the Libyans crashing into a Fox Photo booth. Marty then ran to Doc's body and, believing him to be dead, started to cry. At that moment, Doc sat up, much to Marty's surprise. Doc then pulled down the zipper of his radiation suit, revealing a bulletproof vest underneath. Confused, Marty asked him how he knew ahead of time, which prompted Doc to pull out Marty's letter from his inside pocket, having taped it back together sometime in the past 30 years. Marty questioned Doc about all that talk about screwing up future event and the space-time continuum, to which he replied that he'd figured "what the hell".

Marty was driven home by Doc in the Delorean and then asked him how far ahead he was going. Doc replied that he intended to travel about 30 years into the future, citing it as a nice round number. Marty then asked Doc if he could look him up when he got there, remarking that he would be about 47 years old by that time, which Doc promised he would. The two exchanged goodbyes and Marty informed Doc to watch the re-entry, saying that it was a little bumpy. Marty then watched as Doc drove the Delorean onto the road and disappeared in a flash of light.

Future Shock[]

The next morning, Marty woke up in his bed and assumed that all of the preceding events had been a nightmare. However, while walking through the house, Marty noticed that the living room had now changed from a dingy antiquated setting to a clean and modern home and then overheard Dave and Linda arguing over how Dave could not keep up with all her boyfriends. Confused, Marty asked them a few questions before Dave asked him if he was alright, to which Marty replied that he was. Shortly after, George and Lorraine arrived home from playing tennis, both more fit and attractive, causing him to nearly faint at the sight of them and fall to the floor, making them momentarily concerned. After getting back up, Marty remarked that they looked great and that Lorraine looked so thin, for which she thanked him.

Marty was then informed by Linda that Jennifer had called and Lorraine remarked that she liked her, stating that she was such a sweet girl. Upon being asked by Lorraine whether he and Jennifer were still planning to go up to the lake that night, Marty, confused, remarked that they couldn't go to the lake because the car was wrecked, much to his family's confusion.

Marty followed George to the front door and saw Biff, now timid and running an auto detailing service, waxing the family car. Marty then watched as George, now more confident, managed to catch Biff in a fib and get him to apply two coats of wax instead of one. Marty then listened as George remarked that he'd been dealing with Biff since high school, although ultimately both him and Lorraine credited him with making them fall in love. At that moment, Biff ran into the house, carrying a package containing George's first novel, a science-fiction story called A Match Made in Space. After hearing George repeat Doc's phrase at him, Marty was handed his keys by Biff, who told that the car was all waxed up and ready for tonight.

Upon opening the garage door, Marty discovered that, in this revised timeline, he now owned the Toyota 4X4 that he had been eyeing previously. Marty then became aware of Jennifer's presence, who jokingly asked him for a ride. Marty happily approached her to get a better look at her, prompting Jennifer to remark that he was acting as though he hadn't seen her in a week, to which he replied that he hadn't. Confused, Jennifer asked him if he was okay and if everything was alright, Marty, after briefly looking back at his parents, replied that everything was great as he and Jennifer leaned closer to kiss.

However, their kiss was interrupted by the arrival of the DeLorean, which then proceeded to knock over the nearby trashcans. Afterwards, a futuristically-garbed Doc emerged from the time machine, urging him to come back with him to the future. Marty then saw Doc reeling through the garbage and asked him what he was doing, to which he responded that he needed fuel. Whilst dropping the garbage into the Mr. Fusion, Doc continued to urge Marty to quickly get in the car, but Marty was hesitant, stating that he had only just gotten back to his time and that he and Jennifer intended to take the new truck for a spin. He pleads with Marty and Jennifer to come with him to the future over an urgent matter involving their children. Doc refuels the DeLorean with an almost empty can of Miller beer (can and all), a banana peel, and other pieces of trash. A new futuristic generator called Mr. Fusion is planted where the plutonium power system was, and the three of them travel forward to 2015. The DeLorean is now upgraded with hovering wheels.

Into the future[]

Just as Marty and Doc headed to October 21, 2015 to save Marty's future son Marty Jr., from going to prison. Marty pretended to be Marty Jr. in order to stand up to Griff Tannen, grandson of Biff. Marty's "chicken" problem became apparent - whenever someone called him a chicken, he became offended and felt he had to prove he was not afraid. Marty succeeded in preventing his son from going to prison, by causing Griff and his gang to crash into the Hill Valley Courthouse, causing them to be arrested, thereby changing the timeline, and acquired a hoverboard. Afterward Marty entered the Blast from the Past and purchased Grays Sports Almanac, with the intent to use it and the time machine for financial gain. Doc discovered the almanac clearly stated that "I didn't invent the time machine to win at gambling, I invented the time machine to travel through time." He disposed of the almanac in a nearby trash can. Biff overheard Doc's statement, came out of the alley, and took the almanac from the trash can.

While in the future, his girlfriend Jennifer Parker discovered that in 1985, the day after he arrived back from 1955, Marty was involved in a car accident after auto racing a classmate, Douglas J. Needles, on a "chicken" dare. Marty broke his hand and was sued by the driver of the Rolls-Royce he crashed into. He had to give up a career in music and spent many years feeling sorry for himself. He married Jennifer in the 1990s in the Chapel O' Love, and his parents were the only witnesses. The couple had two kids — daughter Marlene, and son Martin Jr. (born 1998). By 2015, Marty and Jennifer were living in Hilldale, a planned community established in 1985 which had deteriorated over the last 30 years in similar fashion as Lyon Estates had between 1955 and 1985. They were having marriage difficulties, and Marty was stuck in a dead end job at CusCo, where his co-worker was his former classmate Needles, who pressured Marty into unwise decisions, much like the way George McFly was bullied by his supervisor, Biff Tannen, in the original 1985.

The 1985 version of Marty, visiting 2015, does not find out any of this, but the 1985 Jennifer. This future version of Marty fell victim to another "chicken" dare from Needles, who convinced Marty to go along with some shady in-company deal. However, the supervisor above Needles, Ito T. Fujitsu, or "The Jitz", had been listening in on the pair making the deal by video telephone, and fired Marty for cooperating with Needles (it is not clear what Needles' fate was as a result of this incident). The 1985 Jennifer did not witness all of this exchange, but did acquire a copy of a printout sheet with the words "YOU'RE FIRED!!!' on it, as every fax machine in the McFly residence printed out the phrase.

1985A and back to 1955[]

The 1985 version of Marty, visiting 2015, does not find out any of this, but the 1985 Jennifer. This future version of Marty fell victim to another "chicken" dare from Needles, who convinced Marty to go along with some shady in-company deal. However, the supervisor above Needles, Ito T. Fujitsu, or "The Jitz", had been listening in on the pair making the deal by video telephone, and fired Marty for cooperating with Needles (it is not clear what Needles' fate was as a result of this incident). The 1985 Jennifer did not witness all of this exchange, but did acquire a copy of a printout sheet with the words "YOU'RE FIRED!!!' on it, as every fax machine in the McFly residence printed out the phrase.

1985A and back to 1955[]

Doc and Marty headed back to 1985, only to find that an elderly Biff Tannen, in 2015, had stolen the time machine and gone back to 1955 with the sports almanac, which he had given to his younger self. As a result, Biff knew the results to all future sports events for the rest of the century. Using this knowledge, Biff was able to bet on the winner every time, becoming an extremely powerful multi-millionaire. Subsequently, Hill Valley became a corrupt, crime-ridden city ruled over by Biff, where he owned the police and had influence towards national politicians. Additionally, Marty learned that his father was murdered, Biff was now his stepfather, and that he had "been attending" a boarding school in Switzerland. Marty had apparently attended, and been thrown out of, other boarding schools in the past.

After confronting Biff about the almanac, Biff revealed how he obtained it, as well as admitting to murdering Marty's father while attempting to shoot Marty with a handgun. Marty now had to steal back the almanac in 1955, so he and Doc quickly headed back to put history back on track, whilst avoiding their younger selves from the first trip. They eventually succeeded (saving Marty's father and returning Hill Valley back to normal), but the lightning storm that struck the clock tower arrived, and struck the DeLorean in mid-air while Doc was inside alone, scrambling the time circuits and sending Doc to the year 1885. At that very moment, a letter from Doc in 1885, which had been in Western Union's possession for 70 years, 2 months, and 12 days, arrived for Marty, explaining everything that had just transpired. Determined to rescue his friend, Marty rushed off to find the 1955 Doc, who was just sending the other Marty back to 1985.

The Wild, Wild West[]

Marty found the 1955 Doc Brown celebrating his success in sending his counterpart back to 1985 the first time, but shocked him into fainting. He drove Doc back to his residence where Doc began to record the experiment but found Marty there again.

Marty showed Doc the message his counterpart sent him, directing them to the Delgado Mine where the DeLorean was buried. After the DeLorean is fixed, Marty traveled back to September 2, 1885 to find Doc and bring him home. Marty, now using the name "Clint Eastwood", found Doc, but the time machine once again needed repairing after ripping a fuel line by getting caught in an Indian attack. When Doc started romancing Clara Clayton, Marty became weary of his friend's companion and tried distracting Doc from Clara so he could fix the time machine and they could go home. He often cleared his throat to break the silence when Doc and Clara were locking eyes.

Once again, he encountered a Tannen, this time it was Biff's great grandfather Buford 'Mad Dog' Tannen. Buford called Marty "yellow" and Marty ended up facing Buford in a duel. His great great grandfather Seamus alongside wife Maggie told Marty the story of his brother, also named Martin McFly, who was stabbed in Virginia City while trying to prove he was not a coward. Marty managed to overcome his complex and told Buford that he did not care what anyone thought about him. But Buford didn't give up easily without a fight. Holding Doc hostage, Marty was forced to use a Clint Eastwood trick from A Fistful of Dollars and defeated Buford in combat.

Marty managed to get back to the future and found out that everything is back to the way it was after the first trip back from 1955. Upon returning, the time machine was destroyed by an oncoming train, just as Marty leaped from the vehicle. He picked up Jennifer and went go out in his new truck. At an intersection, they met Needles who challenged them to a race. It isn't clear if Jennifer realized that this was the car accident that ruined Marty's life but she did encourage him to say "no". Marty appeared to be ready to race Needles but, when the light turned green he shifted into reverse, speeding backwards as Needles took off. Marty tells Jennifer that he had no intention of racing "that asshole." Needles, now down the road, narrowly avoided hitting a Rolls-Royce, and the car accident was avoided. Marty apparently learned his lesson and Jennifer's future changed to a supposedly better but unknown one. Marty and Jennifer returned to the scene of the DeLorean's wreckage, believing that Doc would be lost in time forever. Suddenly, Doc and Clara show up in a new time machine fashioned from a locomotive. Doc explained to Marty and Jennifer that nobody's future is written yet and that they should make the best of it. Marty and Jennifer watched as the train lifted off the tracks and disappeared in a flash of light.

Personality and traits[]

Marty was an easy going adolescent most of the time. In the first film he had a bit of an attitude problem towards disrespecting adults. However, Marty is well-meaning, kind, loyal, music-loving teenager, He was not the best student academically but his grades were fairly good, although he did have a tendency to be late for school. This was not always his fault, however, as shown when Doc set all his clocks 25 minutes slow, causing Marty to arrive late for school. Marty is a very loyal guy, he is always sticks up for the little guy when he ask his help. He is also very loyal to Doc Brown, as a number of adults, including his parents, have said he's very dangerous to be around, but Marty knows that he really isn't.

Marty played lead guitar with The Pinheads and liked listening to Huey Lewis and the News and Eddie Van Halen. He is also a talented skateboarder. Marty was also shown to be good at singing, as shown in his performance of "Johnny B. Goode" at the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance.

When faced with danger, Marty was always brave and could be very resourceful and clever. His only major character flaw was his persistent desire to show others that he wasn't a coward, which sometimes caused him to take unnecessary risks. He couldn't abide to be called "chicken", a trait he shares with James Dean's character Jim Stark from Rebel Without a Cause (coincidentally made in 1955). However, Marty realized that he doesn't need to constantly prove his bravery and avoids one of the greatest tragedies in his life, a collision with a Rolls-Royce that would have ruined his ability to play the guitar.