An ABC timeline is when a time traveler goes back in time and commits an action that causes a drastic change to the present creating a paradox. That timeline is designated as [the present year][letter].
These include: 1931A; 1931B; 1985A; 1986A; 1986B; 1986C; 1986D; 1986E; 1986F; 1986G; 1986H; 2015A; 2015B; 2015C; 2015D; 2015E; and 2045A.
Marty hits a pine tree, uses the alias "Calvin Klein", and hits a Rolls Royce[]
This timeline was created after Marty McFly traveled from 1985 to 1955, and enlisted the help of the Dr. Emmett Brown from 1955 to get back home.
1955A[]
Marty McFly hit a pine tree at Otis Peabody's farm, changing its title from the Twin Pines Ranch to the Lone Pine Ranch. George McFly was never hit by the car driven by Sam Baines, so Lorraine developed a crush on Marty, who went under the pseudonym Calvin Klein, instead. Biff Tannen had the inside of his car covered in manure, after Marty got away from him on a makeshift skateboard. At Hill Valley High School, during the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, Biff's gang locked Marty in the trunk of a car. Biff tried to take advantage of Lorraine, and George knocked him out with one punch. Marvin Berry cut his hand while using a screwdriver to open the trunk, and Marty took his place on stage playing guitar. George kissed Lorraine at the dance, but now George had the new-found admiration of his peers due to standing up to Biff. Marty played "Johnny B. Goode", which caused Marvin Berry to call his cousin, Chuck Berry, to tell him that he has the "new sound" he had been looking for. Marty wrote Doc a letter explaining that he would be shot by Libyan terrorists in 1985. Doc tore the letter up and then sent Marty back to 1985. However, he later put it back together, perhaps due to his new positive outlook because of his knowledge that his time machine would be a success.
1985α[]
Doc survived the gunshots due to the fact that he had read Marty's note, and had purchased a bullet-proof vest. Doc then takes the DeLorean into the future. Due to his increased confidence in standing up to Biff, George became a successful writer, and released his first novel, A Match Made In Space, in 1985. Lorraine was happier in her marriage, and was no longer an overweight alcoholic. Marty's sister Linda was more comfortable around boys, since her mother no longer forbid her from dating, and she had many boys that wanted to date her. Dave McFly, Marty's brother, now worked at an office rather than at Burger King. Marty now owned a Toyota 4x4, that his counterpart saved up for all summer, while his father paid the rest. Marty's counterpart planned to take his girlfriend Jennifer Parker to the lake in his 4x4, instead of in the family car. The rest of the family would still have transportation, as Biff didn't wreck the family's car in this timeline. Biff now owned Biff's Auto Detailing, as he no longer could bully George into writing reports for jobs in which he wasn't qualified. Marty would later hit a Rolls Royce after drag-racing against Douglas J. Needles as he was unable to say no after being called a chicken. Marty broke his hand, and was no longer able to play the guitar. The money he had to pay due to the accident made him have major financial difficulties.
Doc buys comics, upgrades the DeLorean, and Marty Jr. is arrested[]
This timeline was created after Doc traveled from 2015 to 1938 to purchase the first issue of Action Comics, to get money to upgrade the DeLorean.
1938A[]
Doc arrives from 2015, after finding out on the internet about the best investment one could have at that point in time. He purchased several copies of the first issue of Action Comics to sell a copy in the future at Southby's Auction House.
2015A[]
Doc returned to 2015 and sold one comic. He bought a hover conversion by Goldie Wilson III, and has his DeLorean outfitted with a Mr. Fusion. Then, he sold another of his Action Comics at Southby's Auction House for $2.5 million dollars. He used this to purchase a false identity, "Leroy Brown", which let him open an account at a bank to store the remaining comics, got a rejuvenation treatment, and placed his dog, Einstein, in a suspended animation kennel. Griff Tannen and his gang, along with Marty Jr., robbed the Hill Valley Payroll Substation with a stolen degaussing unit, but were caught by the police when Marty Jr. set off an alarm. Marty Jr. was tried and convicted, and his sister was arrested for trying to break him out.
Marty poses as Marty Jr., and Griff Tannen and his gang are arrested[]
This timeline was created when Doc came back to 1985 to pick up Marty so he could pose as his son in order to prevent his incarceration.
1985ß[]
Doc picked up Marty, and brought his girlfriend, Jennifer Parker along because she saw the DeLorean. Unknown to them, Biff Tannen also saw the DeLorean hover into the sky and vanish when it went to 2015.
2015B[]
Marty McFly posed as Marty Jr. and managed to change future history for the better by causing Griff and his gang to crash into the Hill County Courthouse on their hoverboards, resulting in their arrest. Griff and his gang were convicted and sent to jail for wrecking the Courthouse Mall. The 47-year-old Marty, dared by Douglas J. Needles, illegally allowed his CusCo credit card to be scanned by Needles as part of an illegal transaction that would apparently make more money, and subsequently got fired from his job at CusCo by his boss, Mr. Fujitsu, who had been monitoring the scan. The elderly Biff Tannen stole the DeLorean time machine and headed back in time with a sports almanac that detailed fifty years of sports statistics.
Biff becomes rich and creates "Hell Valley" in the "Biffhorrific" timeline[]
This timeline was created after an elderly Biff Tannen stole the DeLorean in 2015 to travel back to 1955 to gave a sports almanac to himself, telling him to bet on the winner so he will become rich.
3000000 B.C.-A[]
The elderly Biff arrived at some point prior to this date in the Cretaceous Period, as he didn't know how to operate the DeLorean, and struck the time circuits with his cane. He used a baby velociraptor for fuel for the Mr. Fusion to power the nuclear reactor on the DeLorean, which polluted the timestream. Thus dinosaurs still existed, and lemon trees were present in the area that would become California.
1955B[]
The elderly Biff arrived from the Cretaceous Period, and gave his younger self the almanac. He stayed for a few hours, possibly to do a bit of nostalgic sightseeing, before returning to 2015. The teenage Biff Tannen takes his grandmother, Gertrude Tannen, to Las Vegas to gamble. Gertrude Tannen is murdered by a conman named Uncle Lou, who himself is subsequently murdered by Biff. Biff becomes rich after he takes the briefcase full of money from Uncle Lou, while he waits for 1958 to bet legally with the sports almanac once he turns 21.
Biff buys a car with the money, and tries to bribe school principal Stanford S. Strickland to let him graduate. Strickland gets Biff expelled from Hill Valley High School.
1956A[]
Biff didn't graduate with the rest of his class, as he was expelled for trying to bribe the vice principal the previous year. While Vice Principal Strickland is giving his speech, Match, Skinhead, and 3-D climb above the stage, releasing a banner that reads "Life's a Beach. SEA You Next Year!", while dumping a bucket of water on Strickland's head.
1970A[]
After the seventh year straight of receiving presents from Biff, George McFly stated that it needed to stop. Lorraine wanted to leave Hill Valley, but George convinced her to let the family stay as he didn't want to take the children away from their grandparents.
1971A[]
Biff barged into the Hill Valley City Council meeting, and demanded that his mansion plans be approved. Stanford S. Strickland vocally disapproved of the plans. After an attempt at bribing Strickland didn't work, Biff and his gang sent Strickland a box of cigars with a card that claimed they were from someone thanking him for standing up to Biff Tannen. Strickland lit one in his office at the Hill Valley High School, and Biff took a photograph of him through the window. The cigar exploded in his face, and his office caught on fire. He tried to use a fire extinguisher to put the fire out, but Biff rigged it to accelerate the flames instead. Strickland rushed all of the teachers and students out of the school, and Biff sent the photograph to the authorities. Strickland was suspended from the city council pending an investigation into the fire, and with Strickland off the council, Biff's mansion plans were approved.
1972A[]
Tannen Manor was completed, and Biff held a ceremony there. Lorraine Baines McFly was awarded "Mother of the Year for 1972", but Biff revealed that the ceremony was just a ruse to get Lorraine to show up to his mansion. Biff Tannen's second wife, Jayne Mansfield, left him when she found a fallout shelter full of statues and portraits of Lorraine underneath Tannen Manor. A government agent entered the fallout shelter and convinced Biff to create a corporation in order to benefit the Richard Nixon administration, which would give the president deniability.
1973A[]
Biff created BiffCo, and bought the Hill Valley Police Department, a television and radio station, and most of the property in Hill Valley. The Hill Valley Civic Committee was turned into a secret committee with the sole purpose of stopping Biff. The Hill Valley Telegraph was sold to The Washington Post, to prevent Biff from buying it. They published an article that was critical of BiffCo. George was murdered by Biff in an alleyway. Lorraine Baines McFly married Biff Tannen in order to protect her family after Biff threatened their financial stability.
1979A[]
Hill Valley High School burned down and was never rebuilt. Biff Tannen successfully legalized gambling. Construction on Biff Tannen's Pleasure Paradise Casino & Hotel began.
1985A[]
Dave McFly was in prison. Marty McFly left his Switzerland boarding school to tour Europe with a band. Linda McFly had financial problems, and owed the bank a substantial amount of money. Biff threatened to cancel Linda's credit cards and let settle her debts by herself if Lorraine left him. Emmett Brown shut down some of his higher brain functions, in the manner of a practice performed by some Eastern religions, appearing as if he was lobotomized, and was being kept in the County Asylum. Mr. Strickland, armed with a shotgun and wearing a bulletproof vest, fought a one-man war against the armed teenage gangs who were driving around the streets, terrorizing and even killing some of the residents.
1986A[]
Biff announced his run for President of the United States and brought Marty, Dave and Linda back to Hill Valley so that he'd have the image of a family man during his presidential run. Biff learned about Doc's condition, and had Skinhead track down Doc's dog, Einstein, to attempt to bring him out of his mental state. Lorraine Baines McFly shot Biff in the chest, but the bullet was stopped by the book that contained the record of people that he had paid off. Biff discovered that Doc had built a time travel chamber and blackmailed Doc into using the chamber, threatening to kill Marty if Doc didn't cooperate. Doc sent Biff to 1884 instead of 1996, where he was shot dead by his own great-grandfather. Doc activated his electrified conducting mat, which electrocuted Biff's gang, preventing them from killing anybody. Biff was declared dead by a power surge, and Lorraine inherited his fortune. The McFly family, along with Goldie Wilson and Doc, announced that Biff's businesses would be closed and that they would work together to make Hill Valley once again a nice place to live.
2015C[]
Upon his arrival, Biff is erased from existence, as he didn't exist in 2015 due to the fact he was killed in 1986. Hilldale has improved to the level that it appears as it did in 2015B.
Marty and Doc go to the past, so two Martys and two Docs are in 1955[]
This timeline was created when Doc and Marty traveled to 1955 to get the almanac the elderly Biff had given his younger self when he stole the DeLorean time machine in 2015.
1955C[]
Marty and Doc arrive, so there are now two instances of Marty, and two instances of Doc, in 1955. The younger Emmett Brown interacted with his older self by asking him for a wrench when he was working on his "weather experiment", although the younger Doc didn't realize he was talking to his older self. Biff's gang discovers the older Marty McFly, and mistakes him for his younger self. They try to ambush him when he comes off the stage, but the older Marty releases sandbags, knocking them out. Marty retrieves the almanac and Biff's car is covered in manure again when Marty escapes thanks to the arrival of Doc in the flying DeLorean. Doc is accidentally sent back to 1885 when the DeLorean is struck by lightning, and a temporal duplicate of the DeLorean is sent forward to 2025.
Doc falls in love with Clara Clayton and is killed by Buford Tannen[]
This timeline was created when Doc accidentally traveled to 1885 after getting struck by lightning.
1885A[]
Doc arrives and hides the DeLorean in the Delgado mine. He becomes a blacksmith, shoeing horses and fixing wagons. Doc sends Marty a letter through Western Union, letting him know where he was, and giving instructions on how to locate and repair the DeLorean. Buford Tannen got a horse shoed, and claims Doc owes him $80 because the horse threw the shoe, and he shot the horse. Doc refuses and Buford tells him to watch his back. Doc volunteers to pick up the new school teacher, Clara Clayton, and falls in love. Doc is shot by Buford Tannen at the Hill Valley Festival, and later dies from his wounds. Clara buys a tombstone for Doc and is inscribed on it as his "beloved Clara".
1955D[]
Marty received a letter from the Doc from 1985 through the Western Union, and discovers that Doc accidentally travelled to 1885. He goes to the Doc from 1955 for help in retrieving the DeLorean from the Delgado mine, and for help to repair it. While at the mine, he discovers that the 1985 Doc was killed in 1885 by Buford Tannen, so he goes back to 1885 to save him.
Marty prevents Doc's death and does not race against Needles[]
1885B[]
Marty disobeys Doc's instructions and goes to 1885. Similar to the events of 1885A, Doc and Marty come to rescue Clara Clayton before she would fall into the Shonash Ravine, which to the horror of Doc, prevents the Shonash Ravine from being renamed to the Clayton Ravine. During the town festival, Buford Tannen comes to kill Doc with a derringer when Marty throws a pie plate at Buford's hand which prevents Doc's death and Doc's name appearing on the grave. Marty then defeats Buford Tannen outside the Saloon which causes the grave to disappear from the photograph entirely.
1985B[]
Marty arrives from 1885 onto the completed train track at the Shonash Ravine, now renamed Eastwood Ravine in Clint Eastwood's (Marty's pseudonym in 1885) honor. The DeLorean is destroyed when an oncoming train smashes into the DeLorean. Marty is later challenged by Needles to race against him, though Marty reverses, which prevents him from hitting the Rolls Royce and thus, the words "YOU'RE FIRED!" disappears from the fax Jennifer held from 2015.
Doc goes by "Carl Sagan" and is killed by Kid Tannen[]
This timeline was created when Doc, under the pseudonym "Carl Sagan", traveled to 1931 to find out about Marty's grandmother.
1931A[]
Doc arrives in 1931 and is knocked unconscious by the Hill Valley speakeasy explosion. He is arrested, under suspicion of being the arsonist. Kid Tannen kills him in retaliation for the arson of his speakeasy. The automatic retrieval system in the temporal duplicate DeLorean activates and the DeLorean travels to 1986.
1986[]
Doc's garage is under foreclosure from the bank, and the contents within are being put up for sale in an estate sale. The DeLorean arrives at the garage, and Marty discovers what happened to Doc in a newspaper he took from Edna Strickland's house. Marty borrows a suit and heads back to 1931 to rescue Doc.
Appearances[]
- Back to the Future Part II
- Back to the Future: The Game
- Doc Brown Saves the World
- Back to the Future: Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines