Back to the Future 2’s Alternate Timeline: Everything That’s Different

Back to the Future Part II sent Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) to a dark alternate timeline that came straight out of his nightmares, dubbed “Hell Valley.” After going to the future with Doc (Christopher Lloyd), Marty decided to buy a sports almanac showing every major score and victory from the past fifty years. Unfortunately, the old version of Biff Tannen was watching his every move. Once Marty got distracted, Biff took the almanac and used the DeLorean time machine to go back to 1955. Biff gave his younger self the almanac, creating a ripple effect that would change Marty’s life in 1985.

The Back to the Future trilogy is full of alternate timelines, and much of its plot focuses on the consequences of time travel, going as far as threatening to erase Marty’s entire existence in the first movie due to his parents not kissing at their school dance. But in the sequel, Back to the Future 2, Marty’s mistake with the almanac completely changed his family’s history and the entire city of Hill Valley. Once the younger Biff realized he could use the almanac to bet on sports events and win every time, he became incredibly wealthy and influential.

As seen in the ending of the first Back to the Future movie, changes that happen in the past can alter the future in small or big ways. Biff becoming rich didn’t just change his life, but affected the McFly family and the town itself. With his money and power, Biff was able to buy much of the land in Hill Valley and possibly even the police. The once idyllic suburban town of the 50s became a hub for criminals and gamblers with biker bars and burned down schools. When Marty came back from the future, what he found wasn’t exactly a kid-friendly version of Hill Valley.

Here’s everything that is different from Marty’s version of 1985:

• Biff is now the CEO of BiffCo and has built the Pleasure Paradise Casino & Hotel on the Hill Valley courthouse site. The casino attracts less than scrupulous clientele. He also has an oil refinery near the town.
• Armed gangs roam free, and the police department is owned by Biff. The police headquarters is surrounded by barbwire and a chain-link fence. They also have military-grade tanks.
• The Hill Valley High School burnt down in 1979. Principal Strickland now protects his house with a shotgun while wearing a bulletproof vest.
• Biff married Marty’s mother, Lorraine, after George McFly was murdered.
• Marty’s older brother, Dave, is in prison after being run out of town by the police and Biff.
• Linda, Marty’s sister, is financially dependent on Biff and owes banks a lot of money.
• Marty was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland.
• Doc Brown was committed to a mental institution, and his lab has been trashed by vandals.
• Richard Nixon is on his fourth presidential term, instead of Ronald Reagan.
• Many of the shops in the Hill Valley square are now bars, prostitution houses, sex shops, clubs, and peep shows.

The biggest difference in the alternate 1985 happened to Marty’s family. While his father was still a successful sci-fi author, his career and life were cut short when he was murdered in an alleyway in 1973, a few years after Marty was born. Lorraine then married Biff, ripping the family apart. Later, Marty discovers Biff was the one who killed his father, no doubt because he was still obsessed with Lorraine. Doc Brown’s life also changed dramatically as he was declared insane. It seems he was never able to invent time travel or use Superman to fund his travels. Thankfully, the pair managed to go back in time and fix reality.

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