Back to The Future/Characters

Films

Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox)

• Action Survivor
• Badass: Particularly the way he handles 1955 Biff Tannen.
• Berserk Button: "Nobody calls me chicken!" This ends up getting him into an accident the day he returns from 1885.
• Book Dumb
• Buffy-Speak
  • Marty: (looking at a bathysphere) It's some kind of... deep-sea diving thingy.
• Bully Hunter
• The Call Knows Where You Live
• Catch Phrase:
  • "This is heavy!"
  • "Holy S**T!!"
  • (evereytime he tries to distract his enemies) "Hey, what the hell is that?!"
  • "Here goes nothing." (In the video games)
• Character Tics: His, erm...unusual sleeping position.
• Chekhov's Skill: Skateboarding, guitar shredding, and (later) arcade shooters.
• Compressed Vice: See Berserk Button.
• Cool Loser
• Dawson Casting: Michael J. Fox was 24 years old at the time of part I, and 28 in parts II and III.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Fake American: Michael J. Fox is Canadian.
• Fatal Flaw: Again, see Berserk Button.
• Fan Service: A split-second shot of him in purple Calvin Klein underwear. Plus in the third movie you get a nice shot of his butt.
• Fish Out of Temporal Water
• Flanderization: Into The Ditz in Back to The Future The Animated Series.
• Future Loser: Part II reveals that Future Marty gave up guitaring and ended up a lowly Salaryman, stuck working for his high school enemy (à la George).
  • Future Badass: If the ending to the Telltale game can be trusted.
• Guile Hero: He uses his wits as much as his physical ability to solve his problems.
• Hard Head
• The Hero
• High School Hustler
• I Know Mortal Kombat: Learned how to sharpshoot from playing an arcade game.
• Indy Ploy
• Kid From the Future: In Part I.
• Loser Son of Loser Dad: In the first film, Strickland sneers that Marty comes from a long line of failures.
• Name McAdjective
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In the game, he mess up the timeline so much that he prevents the events of the movies from ever happening. Creating the Alt!1986 Citizen Brown timeline.
• Only Sane Man
• The Other Marty: Trope Namer, referring to Eric Stoltz.
• This Is Wrong on So Many Levels: Marty often reacts like this when stuff happens with his Young Mother and Grandmother too in the game, for different reasons
• Playing Cyrano
• Supporting Protagonist: Word of God views him as this in the first and third movies.
• Tragic Hero: Narrowly subverted; his Fatal Flaw nearly causes him to break his hand and ruin his rock star dreams in a race with Needles or get shot by Buford, but he learns to overcome those flaws and therefore doesn't fall into tragedy.
• The Watson
• Young Gun: Subversion in Part III.

Emmett "Doc" Brown (Christopher Lloyd)

• Absent-Minded Professor
• Age Lift / Dawson Casting: Christopher Lloyd was only 48 when he filmed the role for the 71 year old Doc Brown. Probably done on purpose so when Marty goes back to 1955 and meets the 41 year old Doc Brown they look the same (except for aging make-up in 1985, which was dropped in the other parts as Brown underwent a rejuvenating process).
• Badass Longcoat: In Part III.
• Bungling Inventor: Strictly speaking, the DeLorean is the only invention of his that works.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: All it takes is a single shot of whiskey, and he's out like a light.
• Catch Phrase: "Great SCOTT!!"
• Cool Old Guy: The guy's built a Time Machine out of a rather poor car, for starters.
• Einstein Hair: How did he get his hair to stick out like that? Hill Valley 1931 Science Expo. In the last eps of the game : Young Emmett is driving his invention, a flying rocket powered car, which explodes. When Emmett is seen out of the expo, his hairs are like his movie counterpart, which he didn't have before. He comments that after when happened, he's banned of the expo for at least 50 years.
• Fan of the Past: Particularly the Old West.
• For Science!
• Gadgeteer Genius
• Gentleman Adventurer
• Going Native
• Hawaiian-Shirted Tourist: Played with. Doc is rarely seen without a tacky luau shirt, and he is a tourist.
• Hot-Blooded: Even more so when he's 17.
• If My Calculations Are Correct
• Indy Ploy
• Intergenerational Friendship: It's a credit to the actors that we, as viewers, don't question why a skater punk and some old guy would hang out together.
  • The original script had a line by Marty explaining that Doc hired him to clean his garage. Marty, being a music aficionado, was impressed with Doc's vintage record collection. The rest is history.
  • The screenwriter decided it wasn't necessary to explain how they first met. Doc is a local pariah and a weirdo, and Marty is clearly a rebel. It's inevitable that Marty would snoop around Doc's garage at some point.
• Large Ham: What would you expect from Christopher Lloyd ?
• Mad Scientist
  • Reluctant Mad Scientist
• Older Than They Look: he's nearly one hundred years old in the game, yet still look like a man in his sixties. justified by the fact that he took advantage of future medicine to rejuvenate himself and increase his lifespan.
• The Professor
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Especially in the animated series.
• Sophisticated As Hell
• Symbol Motif Clothing: He's wearing a shirt decorated with locomotive trains in Part II.
• Took a Level In Badass: In Part III.

Lorraine Baines-McFly (Lea Thompson)

• Broken Bird / Iron Woobie: In 1985-A.
• Former Teen Rebel
• Guess Who I'm Marrying: Biff in 1985-A.
• Happily Married: To George.
• High School Sweethearts: With George.
• Hot Mom: In the "improved" 1985.
• I Was Quite a Looker: Very much. She does retain much of her good looks once the timeline is altered.
• Lady Drunk: In the original 1985. Even more so in 1985-A. And in the Citizen Brown timeline in the game
• Ms. Fanservice: At least in 1955.
• Playing Gertrude: Lea Thompson is just nine days older than Michael J. Fox.
• Three Faces of Eve:
  • Original 1985: Sour.
  • 1955: Sweet.
  • "Improved" 1985 / 2015: Sweet and Sour.
  • 1985-A: Sour and Spicy.

George McFly (Crispin Glover, Jeffrey Weissman)

• Extreme Doormat: Before taking a level in Badass.
• Fake Shemp: In the sequels, especially Part II.
• Flashback with the Other Darrin: It may not be particularly noticeable most of the time due to clever camera work and tech, but the shots with George in Part II that aren't stock footage are played by Jeffrey Weissman.
• Happily Married: To Lorraine.
• Hollywood Nerd: To the nth degree, before time got altered.
• The Other Darrin: Since Glover refused to participate in the sequels, this was practically forced.
• The Peeping Tom: In the Citizen Brown timeline of the game.
• Playing Gertrude: Glover is actually 3 years younger than Michael J. Fox. (averted with Weissman, who is 3 years older)
• The Southpaw: An early draft had George discover he could punch very strongly with his left hand. The final film has George's desire to protect Lorraine cause him to unleash his inner strength, but close observers might notice he knocked out Biff by punching him with his left hand.
• Took a Level In Badass: Marty basically helps him rise to this point. As soon as Lorraine is shoved to the ground, the kid gloves come off.

Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson)

• Arch Enemy: To the McFly Family in general, but most Marty in the first movie.
• The Caligula: In 1985-A.
• Can't Get Away with Nuthin': That's two coats of wax, Tannen!
• Catch Phrase:
  • "Hello ! hello ! Anybody home ?!"
  • "Butthead"
  • "Hey McFly!"
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: In 1985-A, liberally mixed with Complete Monster.
• Evil Is Petty: Exhibit A — Stealing a ball from some neighborhood kids and hurling it onto a nearby roof. And then he strolls away cackling to himself.
• Freudian Excuse: His grandmother sounds like a case.
  • In the Telltale game, his father is revealed to be a notorious bootlegger.
• Future Loser: The altered timeline had him waxing cars, most often for the McFly family, in contrast to his supervisor job in the original timeline.
• I Hate Past Me: "It's LEAVE!! 'Make like a tree and leave.' You sound like a damn fool when you say it wrong!"
• In the Blood
• Jerkass
• Jerk Jock: 1955!Biff is a textbook example.
• Malaproper: "Now why don't you make like a tree and get outta here."
• Large Ham
• Mean Character, Nice Actor: Tom Wilson is actually a very nice guy who based Biff on his own experiences being bullied.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: In 1985-A, to George McFly.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Word of God says the 1985-A Biff was inspired by Donald Trump. The portrait in Biff's office was even based on one of Trump.
• Our Founder: Has a wax statue of himself standing in 1985-A's museum.
• Outdated Outfit
• Schoolyard Bully All Grown Up: In the original timeline, he's still at it, holding power over George.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money: In 1985-A.
• Villainous Crush: For Lorraine.
• Villain with Good Publicity: In 1985-A.
• You Killed My Father: He killed George, Marty's father, in 1985-A.

Jennifer Parker (Claudia Wells, Elizabeth Shue)

• The Chick
• Flashback with the Other Darrin: It's even the page image!
• Guest Star Party Member: Her most significant role was in the second film. Which involved her running around her future home in a controled panic.
• Girl Next Door
• The Other Darrin: From Claudia Wells, to Elizabeth Shue, and back again.
• Shallow Love Interest: Her character, Backstory, or anything else aren't explored very much over the course of the three movies.
• Static Character: Through no fault of her own, she comes off as this.
• Three Faces of Eve
  • Jennifer is Sweet in 1985.
  • She's implied to be Sour in 2015.
  • She's definitely Spicy (and later Sweet, when she warms up to Marty) in the Telltale game's "Citizen Brown" timeline.
• Tsundere: Type B

Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen)

• Actor Allusion: Mary Steenburgen had also starred as a woman who fell in love with a time-traveler in Time After Time.
• Distressed Damsel
• Geeky Turn On: "You've read Jules Verne?", "I adore Jules Verne!"
• Schoolmarm
• Three Faces of Eve: Clara is Sweet and Sour.
• Woman Scorned
• Determinator: She's crazy determind enough to climb all the way to the trains engine room, dispite all the explosions!

Vice Principal Gerald Strickland (James Tolkan)

• Bald of Evil: "Jesus, didn't that guy ever have hair?" (Nope.)
• Blond Guys Are Evil: The last remnants of his hairline in '55.
• Bow Ties Are Cool
• Catch Phrase: "Slacker!"
• Dean Bitterman
• Knight Templar: Particularly in the alternate 1985 created by the almanac.

"EAT LEAD, SLACKERS!!"

Buford Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson)

• Badass Mustache
• Berserk Button: Do not call Buford "Mad Dog." Just don't.
• Hair-Trigger Temper
• Identical Grandson: A bit tricky to pin down the usual features of a Tannen through that mustache, but he has 'em.
• Jerkass: Well, he's a Tannen. What else would you expect at this point?
• Malaproper: "I'll hunt you and shoot you down like a duck."

The 2010 Game

Edna Strickland

Sister of Gerald Strickland. Even less tolerant about morality and law than her little brother.

• All Girls Want Bad Boys: In the game finale, with Kid Tannen, of all people.
• Big Bad: Of the game.
• Catch Phrase:
  • "It's a fact, look it up."
  • "Hooligans!"
• Crazy Cat Lady: The original 1986!Edna and Crazy, Old 1931!Edna.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Edna. By the time Episode 5 rolls around, Marty exclaims, "Jeez, that lady was always a loon!"
• Epic Fail: While in 1876, Edna tried to burn down Hill Valley's saloon since her grandfather wouldn't do anything about it. ...this ended up burning down ALL of Hill Valley.
• Evil Old Folks
• From Nobody to Nightmare
• Grumpy Old Woman
• Hollywood Tone Deaf: However, her song is quite effective when it was sang by others.
• Hot Scoop: In 1931
• Love Redeems: Hooking up with Kid Tannen results in both of them mellowing out a lot.
• Knight Templar: Her views of justice are... Petty, to say the least.
• Moral Guardians
• Not-So-Harmless Villain
• Puppy Dog Eyes: Young Edna lays this trope on Young Emmett, provoking a hilarious attempt at a smile .
• Red Herring Shirt
• Shadow Dictator: Citizen Edna.
• She Who Fights Monsters
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: More Extreme than well-intentioned.
• Why did it have to be dogs ?: Not anymore in the ending

Emmett "First Citizen" Brown.

An alternate Emmett Brown created by Marty's errors in the game. As different from the original Doc as you can get.

• Anti-Villain
• Absent-Minded Professor: Less that the original Doc Brown. Thanks or because of Edna's influence on him.
• Big Brother Is Watching: In Episode 3, "Big Brother" is Citizen Brown. Though it's really Citizen Edna who pulls the strings.
• Decoy Leader
• Face Heel Turn: See What the Hell, Hero? below.
• Heroic Blue Screen of Death: See My God, What Have I Done?.
• Man in White
• My God, What Have I Done?: Once he realized his wife Edna used him and his science to try to turn Hill Valley citizens into mindless robots.
• Reasonable Authority Figure
• Refusal of the Call: Never became the scientist Doc Brown became. Instead ruling Hill Valley with an Iron Fist. But it's Citizen Edna who pulls the strings
• Science Is Bad: He blames his science for turning Edna so corrupt in the future. He's wrong, of course, but he's unlikely to listen to reason...
• Well-Intentioned Extremist
• What the Hell, Hero?: Calls out Marty on this, because Marty fixing the timeline equals him and his life being erased from existence. He Take a Third Option.

Irving "Kid" Tannen

Biff Tannen's father and a famous mob boss in 1931's Hill Valley. Owner of the Speakeasy that was blown the same year.

• Disc One Final Boss: He's kinda like the Big Bad in episode 1 & 2, but his role is limited to cameos in the others episodes.
• Jerkass
• Love Redeems: See Edna's entry.
• Malaproper: "Make like a tree and die, rat!"
• Opposites Attract: With Edna Strickland.

Trixie Trotter/Sylvia Miskin / McFly

Kid Tannen's singer and girlfriend. As well as Marty grandmother, George's mother and Arthur's wife

• Dumb Blonde: Though less than she initially seems, she's certainly no genius.
• Heel Face Turn: Thanks to Marty who managed to trick Trixie into thinking Arthur was killed by Kid Tannen.
• Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!
• Good Bad Girl: We realize who she is in the end of episode 5...
• Marty, I'm your grandma
• Mysterious Past: What CueBall knows about Trixie but never really tell.
• Glamorous Wartime Singer

Arthur McFly

Marty's grandfather and George's father. Almost George's spitting image.

• All There in the Manual: The novel says that Arthur went to WW 1 but was sent home when they noticed how young he was. Arthur returned home without even firing a single shot and became a laughing stock. This event destroyed his self-confidence.
• Extreme Doormat: Like George, his future son, but overall, his life is less miserable than George's was.
• Happily Married: To Trixie Trotter.
• Identical Grandson: He looks exactly like George.
• Sexy Mentor: For Trixie