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Arthur "Artie" McFly was the father of George McFly and the paternal grandfather of Marty McFly. He lived on Sycamore Street with George and his wife Sylvia as of 1955. When he was 16, he enlisted in the army and was sent to France during World War I before they realized how young he was. He came back without firing a single shot. The humiliation was deep, and Arthur became a laughing stock. His confidence ruined, he never tried to do anything that would make him a success, and had a permanent fear of failure. He then started to work for Kid Tannen.
When Marty convinced George to talk to his father about attending college, he gave George a number of excuses and reasons not to attend, particularly due to his own inability to be anything. Though for Arthur's part he believed he was trying to protect George from the same shame he felt, despite what he had done was reckless and dangerous. Upon witnessing this Marty was outraged and had very little respect for his grandfather [1]
In Episode 1 of Back to the Future: The Game, released by Telltale Games in 2010-2011, George references his disappointment in his father to Marty in 1986 right before Marty goes to 1931. While in 1931, Marty goes into a Soup Kitchen where he sees a wimpy Arthur McFly, a dead ringer for 1955- George in looks, voice, and personality. Wimpy Arthur McFly is then harassed by Kid Tannen. It is established that Arthur is the accountant for Kid Tannen's illegal business. Kid Tannen orders McFly back to the Safe House before he can be served a subpoena, and then Kid takes Arthur's signature White Fedora with Red Brim.
Later on in the game, Marty finds that in order to accomplish his mission he will have to help 17-year-old Courthouse Clerk Emmett Brown serve a subpoena to Arthur McFly. Recovering the hat from Kid Tannen, who had been using it as a trophy and Peanut Bowl, Marty has Einstein track Arthur down. They discover the safehouse but find Arthur will not come down from the apartment without Kid Tannen's say-so. Marty is eventally able to trick him to come downstairs, where he is served the subpoena. Marty and Emmett convince Arthur to answer the subpoena. They give him back his hat and he reports to the courthouse to inform on Kid Tannen.
At the end of Episode 1 of the game, Marty and Doc are about to leave 1931 and go back to 1986 when Marty suddenly begins to fade from existence, apparently rather painfully. Episode 2 begins when a newspaper from tomorrow explains that Arthur McFly is found dead on the courthouse steps, having been beaten and left for dead a few hours ago as revenge for answering the subpoena. Marty must go back in time several hours, avoiding his other self, and save Arthur, rescuing him from Tannen's trio of thugs and telling him to lay low and get out of town for a while. Arthur asks Doc and Marty if they are "G-Men," and they say that they ARE G-Men and to remember to look out for a suspect named "Sylvia." "Sylvia" is the name of Marty's grandmother, Arthur's future wife.
Upon returning to 1986, Marty finds that history has been altered and in this new 1986 Kid Tannen was never sent to jail as he was supposed to have been later in 1931. The Tannen crime family runs Hill Valley and harasses the McFlys, and an old Kid Tannen reveals that the only reason he didn't kill Arthr McFly was because his girl made him promise. Marty goes back to 1931 to the night when Kid Tannen was originally arrested. He discovers that Kid Tannen was originally arrested when Trixie Trotter, the singer at Kid Tannen's Speakeasy and Kid Tannen's girlfriend, turned on him and gave Jennifer's grandfather, Officer Danny Parker, some incriminating evidence. But in this new timeline, this does not happen. Marty discovers this is because of two reasons: 1) Danny Parker has been traumatized by his seeing the DeLorean on the first trip to 1931 and 2) Without her smart friend and teacher Arthur McFly, Trixie is not confident enough to turn over the evidence. It turns out that while working for Kid Tannen, Arthur became fast friends with Trixie Trotter and taught her many things, including basic accounting. It is Tax Evasion that Trixie has evidence of, but in this timeline she is hesitant and unsure of hereself about presenting the evidence because Arthur McFly is laying low.
Using Arthur's pipe, Marty was able to track down Arthur and convince him to talk to Trixie. But their meeting was cut short by Kid Tannen, who tried to kill Arthur. Trixie begged for his life and made Kid promise to spare it. After that, she didn't feel right about betraying Kid and decided to hold onto the evidence. Marty had to trick her into believing that Kid has gone back on his word and killed Arthur in order to get her to give Danny Parker the evidence. She does, and Kid Tannen was arrested.
Moments after the arrest, Trixie realizes that Arthur was alive and she was overjoyed. They began a romance. Marty was concerned because Trixie is not his grandmother, Sylvia is. But Doc notes that Marty wasn't fading into nonexistence and concluded that so long as Arthur does meet Sylvia and have baby George by 1938, it should be fine; He said to let Arthur sow his oats in the meantime. Unknown to both of them at the time, Trixie is really Sylvia.
As of October 12, Arthur worked at the Hill Valley Science Expo, and due to interefence by Marty was forced into firing Trixie from her role of Techne (due to her being a Canadian citizen). Later that night, he took her to Reno to marry her (5 years sooner than they were suppose to wed), thus making her a US Citizen (and allowing her to return to her role as Techne). His father William McFly disapproved of them getting hitched, but had a change of heart after meeting Trixie.
When Marty was a child, he once refused to take his grandson to the zoo.[2]
In 1931A, Arthur never met Trixie. According to his father, he was unable to talk to girls.[2]
In 1986B, his son George referred to him in the past tense, implying that he had died by then in that timeline.[3] It is unclear if he was still alive in the original timeline in 1986. However, his wife Sylvia seemingly was, given that Marty referred to her in the past tense.[4]
Appearances
Behind the scenes
Arthur might be visible in the photo of William McFly that Marty finds in the book A History of Hill Valley, 1850-1930. However, if Arthur was born in 1902, William would then only have been 17 years old and a teen father at the time of son Arthur's birth, perhaps confirming the presence of a McFly curse upon the family.
However, it should be noted that Emmett Brown told Marty that Arthur graduated from Hill Valley High School five years before he did, suggesting that he was five years older than Doc. If this is the case, he would have been born in 1909, making him 22 years old in 1931.