TheBack to the Futuretrilogyhas many elements that make it one of the best film series in history. The first film takes the question “What would happen if I met my parents when they weremyage?” to its extreme with the idea of time travel. It’s often name-dropped, particularly in other time-travel films, includingAvengers: Endgameand theBill & Tedtrilogy. But even without outside references, the franchise is pretty huge. TheBack to the Futuretrilogy has spawned a multimedia franchise includingvideo games, an animated series, and an entire musical!
The bedrock of the franchiseis the friendship between Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd), who Marty refers to as “Doc”.Doc and Marty go through time and space to help each other,resulting in adventures ranging from the distant future to the Wild West. However, the origin of their friendship was a mystery untilBack to the FuturescreenwriterBob Galeshed light on the subject.
Doc and Marty Connected Due to Their Outcast Status Before ‘Back to the Future’
Gale had written down the official backstory of how Doc and Marty met, working closely withRobert Zemeckisto shape the details that would define the time-traveling duo. It wasn’t until 2012 that Galeofficially released the statement,which provides some insightinto Doc and Marty as characters:
For years, Marty was told that Doc Brown was dangerous, a crackpot, a lunatic. So, being a red-blooded American teenage boy, age 13 or 14, he decided to find out just why this guy was so dangerous. Marty snuck into Doc’s lab, and was fascinated by all the cool stuff that was there. When Doc found him there, he was delighted to find that Marty thought he was cool and accepted him for what he was. Both of them were the black sheep in their respective environments. Doc gave Marty a part-time job to help with experiments, tend to the lab, tend to the dog, etc. And that’s the origin of their relationship.
VIDEO: This ‘Back to the Future III’ Deleted Scene Featured a Shocking Murder
Marty McFly nearly had a different motivation in the iconic franchise.
Gale’s assessment that Doc and Marty were “black sheep” is spot on, as the firstBack to the Futureshows thatthey don’t fit in with others.Marty feels frustrated with his family and his musical career going nowhere; even his high school principal, Mr. Strickland (James Tolkan), tells him, “No McFly ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley.“Doc, on the other hand, is ostracizeddue to his experiments withtime travel. Seeing them connect and help each other when Marty is stuck in 1955 is one ofBack to the Future’s high points.
The Official ‘Back to the Future’ Comics Show Marty’s First Meeting With Doc
Though Gale had revealed how Doc and Marty finally met,it wasn’t until 2015 that fans got to see them meet in comic book form. IDW Publishing released aBack to the Futurecomic book series, which would delve into the various stories the films had only hinted at. Gale played a major part in shaping the comic, co-writing the first four issues withJohn BarberandErik Burnham. The first issue even featured the full story of Doc and Marty’s first meeting! TheBack to the Futurecomic was such a success that it spawned multiple spinoffs, including aTransformers/Back to the Futurecrossover andBack to the Future: Biff to the Future, which also featured Gale on co-writing duties and detailed Biff Tannen’s rise to power in the alternate timeline ofBack to the Future Part II. The story of Doc and Marty’s meeting adds more depth toBack to the Futureand fits their characters perfectly.
Back to the Future
Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.
Back to the Futureis available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
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