Changes: Douglas J. Needles

Douglas J. Needles
Biographical information
Date of birth	August 6, 1968
Age (1885)	Not yet born
Age (1955)	Not yet born
Age (1985)	17
Age (2015)	47
Physical description
Gender	Male
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Blue
Behind-the-scenes information
Played by	Michael Peter Balzary; (billed on-screen as Flea)
Voiced by	Michael Peter Balzary
	[Source]

Revision as of 22:19, 29 May 2019

"Hey, the big "M"! How's it hanging, McFly?"

—Needles

"He [Marty] picked up the remote control and banished the art channel painting to the corner of the screen. / Needles smiled his gap-toothed grin as his head and shoulders filled the rest of the video display and his identification code flashed on: NEEDLES, DOUGLAS J. ADDRESS: 88 ORIOLE ROAD. A6TB-94. That was his home address; not that Needles was ever home. From the row of vidmemos behind him, Marty could tell the other man was still at his station at work. Sometimes Marty wondered if Needles ever left the office."

—From Back to the Future Part II by Craig Shaw Gardner (quote, page 86)

"Jennifer looked closer, and saw Needles behind the wheel [of the truck] — only now he was seventeen years old, not middle-aged like he he had been in the dream from the future. Jennifer frowned. He was supposed to be seventeen, wasn't he? They were all seniors in high school, weren't they? Then why did she keep seeing everybody the way they were in the dream?"

—From Back to the Future Part III by Craig Shaw Gardner (quote, page 208)

Douglas J. Needles (typically referred to as just Needles) was an acquaintance of Marty McFly and his girlfriend Jennifer Parker though likely not a friend. Unlike Biff Tannen, who typically bullied Marty's father George into getting what he wanted, Needles appeared more of a rival to Marty who could goad Marty into doing foolish things by calling him "chicken".

According to Needles' video telephone datafile in 2015, he lived at 88 Oriole Road A6TB-9 with his family.^[1]

Biography

You chicken — Needles calls Marty "chicken" during a video telephone call in 2015.

Hilldale1985-2 — Needles and his gang take off in Needles' truck, shortly before the near collision with the Rolls Royce.

Note: The following section is considered non-canon or is disputed in canonicity.

In 1979, Needles moved to Hill Valley from Bakersville, and bought his way into The Pinheads with his mother's money. Since Needles couldn't play his guitar and he was a showoff, Lee and Paul told Marty they didn't want him in the band. Needles overheard this and started his own band. This furthered Needles' grudge against Marty.

In 1984, Marty met Jennifer at Hill Valley's 7-Eleven and was going to ask her on a date when Needles interrupted them.

The clerk told Needles to either buy something or leave the store, whereupon Needles picked up a bag of Snacky Chips and threw it into the clerk's face, telling him to hold it for him while he browsed the store.

After Needles had finished harassing Marty and Jennifer, he picked up the bag of chips and threw it in the clerk's face once again, saying that he had changed his mind about buying the chips due to the cholesterol content.

Non-canon or disputable information ends here.

In 1985, Needles was indirectly responsible for ruining Marty's life by talking him into racing their trucks.^[2] Marty ended up crashing into a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III. The Rolls-Royce driver ended up pressing charges against Marty, who had broken his hand in the accident and would later give up on his music.^[1] It was not known to Jennifer until they returned to 1985, however, that the race had been Needles' idea.^[2]

By 2015, Needles and Marty had began working together at a plant, with Needles possibly being in a higher position than Marty (similar to George and Biff in the first film). Needles was attempting to convince Marty to join in on an illegal scam — which involved the use of Marty's CusCo credit card — to make more money. Marty was hesitant at first, but went along with it when Needles called him "chicken". Unfortunately, their boss, Ito T. Fujitsu, was monitoring the entire transaction and fired Marty on the spot. Whether Needles himself faced any consequences is unknown; he seemed to be smirking as he hung up, indicating that he set Marty up. However, it is also possible Needles was smirking because of his supreme confidence in pulling off the scam, which may mean that Needles got his comeuppance by Mr. Fujitsu or the plant upper management. Since Fujitsu had monitored the transaction, and quickly fired Marty, he certainly would have fired anyone else involved in the scam. It is also possible that Needles knew that Fujitsu would fire him if he went through with the crime, that he bribed him to keep his job.^[1]

Just after Marty's return from 1885 to 1985, Needles (seen at age 17) met up with Marty and Jennifer at the point where he proposed the race along with his friends. This time, however, Marty had learned not to lose his judgment because of name-calling and avoided the drag race by pretending to go through with it, thereby preventing the accident and changing the future. Needles and his gang took off and were nearly the ones to hit the Rolls Royce, but they barely evaded an accident themselves through evasive steering. What this meant for Needles is unclear, although his causing Marty to get fired in 2015 may not come to pass — bearing in mind that the words "YOU'RE FIRED!!!" on the fax sent to Marty by Mr. Fujitsu subsequently disappeared before Jennifer's eyes.^[2]

In another timeline, Needles had funded GriffTech in 2032 for its ThingMeme social network.^[3]

Behind the scenes

Michael Peter Balzary (better known as Flea, lead bassist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers) played the part of Needles in Back to the Future Part II, and reprised the role at the close of Back to the Future Part III — being billed in the closing credits on both occasions as Flea.
In the novelization (see Quote above), Needles' address is given as being 88 Oriole Road, A6TB-94.

Appearances

Futurepedia has a collection of images and media related to Douglas J. Needles.

Back to the Future Part II (First appearance)
Back to the Future Part II novelization
Back to the Future Part III
Back to the Future Part III novelization
Back to the Future: The Card Game (Mentioned only)
Back to the Future: The Game
- Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 3: Citizen Brown (Mentioned only)
Doc Brown Saves the World (Mentioned only)
Back to the Future: Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines
- Issue 1: "When Marty Met Emmett"
- Issue 4: "Peer Pressure"
Back to the Future: Continuum Conundrum
Back to the Future: Who Is Marty McFly?

Notes and references

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Back to the Future Part II
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Back to the Future Part III
↑ Doc Brown Saves the World

Individuals
The McFly Family Marty McFly \| George McFly \| Lorraine Baines McFly \| Jennifer Parker \| Seamus McFly \| Maggie McFly Dave McFly \| Linda McFly \| Martin McFly, Jr. \| Marlene McFly \| Arthur McFly
The Brown Family Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown \| Clara Clayton-Brown \| Jules Brown \| Verne Brown \| Einstein
The Tannen Family Biff Tannen \| Buford Tannen \| Griff Tannen \| Irving "Kid" Tannen
The Strickland Family James Strickland \| Roger Strickland \| Irene Strickland \| Edna Strickland \| Gerald Strickland
Other Individuals Match, Skinhead & 3-D \| Goldie Wilson \| Douglas J. Needles \| Marcus Irving

[BTTF2-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Back to the Future Part II

[BTTF3-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Back to the Future Part III

[DBSTW-3] Doc Brown Saves the World

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Quote|How's it hanging, McFly?|Needles}}
 {{Back to the Future character|
 bgcolor=#c00|
 fgcolor=#fff|
-image=[[Image:Needles.JPG|250px]]Douglas Needles|
+image=[[Image:Needles.JPG|250px]]|
-name=Needles|
+name=Douglas J. Needles|
-birth=[[August 6]], [[1968]]|
+birth=[[August 6]], [[1968]]<ref name="BTTF2">''[[Back to the Future Part II]]''</ref>|
 gender=[[Male]]|
 age1=Not yet born|
@@ Line 14: / Line 12: @@
 hair=Black|
 eyes=Blue|
-film=[[Michael Peter Balzary]]|
+film=[[Michael Peter Balzary]]<br>(billed on-screen as Flea)|
 tv=[[Michael Peter Balzary]]|
 }}
-'''Douglas J. Needles''' (typically referred to as just '''Needles''') was an acquaintance of [[Marty McFly]] and his girlfriend [[Jennifer Parker]] though likely not a friend. Unlike [[Biff Tannen]] who typically bullied Marty's father [[George McFly|George]] into getting what he wanted, Needles appeared more of a rival to Marty who could goad Marty into doing foolish things by calling him "[[chicken]]".
+{{Quote|Hey, the big "M"! How's it hanging, McFly?|Needles}}
-According to Needles' [[video telephone]] datafile in [[2015]], he lived at 88 [[Oriole Road]] A6TB-9 with his [[Needles family|family]].
+{{Quote|He ''[Marty]'' picked up the [[remote control]] and banished the [[the Art Channel|art channel]] painting to the corner of the screen. / Needles smiled his gap-toothed grin as his head and shoulders filled the rest of the video display and his identification code flashed on: NEEDLES, DOUGLAS J. ADDRESS: 88 ORIOLE ROAD. A6TB-94. That was his home address; not that Needles was ever home. From the row of vidmemos behind him, Marty could tell the other man was still at his station at work. Sometimes Marty wondered if Needles ever left the office.|From ''[[Back to the Future Part II novelization|Back to the Future Part II]]'' by [[Craig Shaw Gardner]] (quote, page 86)}}
+{{Quote|Jennifer looked closer, and saw Needles behind the wheel ''[of the [[Ford F-150|truck]]]'' — only now he was seventeen years old, not middle-aged like he he had been in the dream from the future. Jennifer frowned. He was supposed to be seventeen, wasn't he? They were all seniors in [[Hill Valley High School|high school]], weren't they? Then why did she keep seeing everybody the way they were in the dream?|From ''[[Back to the Future Part III novelization|Back to the Future Part III]]'' by [[Craig Shaw Gardner]] (quote, page 208)}}
+'''Douglas J. Needles''' (typically referred to as just '''Needles''') was an acquaintance of [[Marty McFly]] and his girlfriend [[Jennifer Parker]] though likely not a friend. Unlike [[Biff Tannen]], who typically bullied Marty's father [[George McFly|George]] into getting what he wanted, Needles appeared more of a rival to Marty who could goad Marty into doing foolish things by calling him "[[chicken]]".
+According to Needles' [[video telephone]] datafile in [[2015]], he lived at 88 [[Oriole Road]] A6TB-9 with his [[Needles family|family]].<ref name="BTTF2"/>
 ==Biography==
+[[File:You_chicken.png|thumb|right|300px|Needles calls Marty "chicken" during a [[video telephone]] call in 2015.]]
-[[Image:Hilldale1985-2.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The race with Needles.]]
+[[Image:Hilldale1985-2.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Needles and his gang take off in Needles' truck, shortly before the near collision with the Rolls Royce.]]
-In [[1985]] Needles was indirectly responsible for ruining Marty's life by talking him into racing their trucks. Marty ended up crashing into a [[Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III]]. The Rolls-Royce driver ended up pressing charges against Marty, who had broken his hand in the accident and would later give up on his music. It was not known to Jennifer until they returned to 1985, however, that the race had been Needles' idea.
+{{Noncanonstart}}
-[[File:You_chicken.png|thumb|right|250px|Needles calls Marty "chicken" during a [[video telephone]] call in 2015.]]
+In [[1979]], Needles moved to [[Hill Valley]] from [[Bakersville]], and bought his way into [[The Pinheads]] with his [[Douglas Needles' mother|mother]]'s [[money]]. Since Needles couldn't play his [[guitar]] and he was a showoff, [[Lee]] and [[Paul (The Pinheads)|Paul]] told Marty they didn't want him in the band. Needles overheard this and started his own band. This furthered Needles' grudge against Marty.
+In [[1984]], Marty met Jennifer at [[Hill Valley]]'s [[7-Eleven]] and was going to ask her on a date when Needles interrupted them.
-In [[2015]], Needles and Marty were working together at a plant, with Needles being in a higher position than Marty (similar to George and Biff in the first film). Needles was attempting to convince Marty to join in on an illegal scam — which involved the use of Marty's [[CusCo]] [[credit card]] — to make more [[money]]. Marty was hesitant at first, but went along with it when Needles called him "chicken". Unfortunately, their boss, [[Ito T. Fujitsu]], was monitoring the entire transaction and fired Marty on the spot. Whether Needles himself faced any consequences is unknown; He seemed to be smirking as he hung up, indicating that he set Marty up. However, it is also possible Needles was smirking because of his supreme confidence in pulling off the scam, which may mean that Needles got his comeuppance by Mr. Fujitsu or the plant upper management. Since Fujitsu had monitored the transaction, and quickly fired Marty, he certainly would have fired anyone else involved in the scam.
+The [[7-Eleven clerk|clerk]] told Needles to either buy something or leave the store, whereupon Needles picked up a bag of [[Snacky Chips]] and threw it into the clerk's face, telling him to hold it for him while he browsed the store.
-Just after Marty's return from [[1885]] to 1985, Needles (seen at age 17) met up with Marty and Jennifer at the point where he proposed the race along with his [[Needles' gang|friends]]. This time, however, Marty had learned not to lose his judgment because of name-calling and avoided the drag race, thereby preventing the accident and changing the future. Needles and his gang took off and were nearly the ones to hit the Rolls Royce, but they barely evaded an accident themselves through evasive steering. What this meant for Needles is unclear, although his causing Marty to get fired in 2015 (in ''Back to the Future Part II'') may not come to pass.
+After Needles had finished harassing Marty and Jennifer, he picked up the bag of chips and threw it in the clerk's face once again, saying that he had changed his mind about buying the chips due to the [[cholesterol]] content.
+{{Noncanonend}}
+In [[1985]], Needles was indirectly responsible for ruining Marty's life by talking him into racing their trucks.<ref name="BTTF3">''[[Back to the Future Part III]]</ref> Marty ended up crashing into a [[Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III]]. The Rolls-Royce driver ended up pressing charges against Marty, who had broken his hand in the accident and would later give up on his music.<ref name="BTTF2"/> It was not known to Jennifer until they returned to 1985, however, that the race had been Needles' idea.<ref name="BTTF3"/>
+By [[2015]], Needles and Marty had began working together at a plant, with Needles possibly being in a higher position than Marty (similar to George and Biff in the first film). Needles was attempting to convince Marty to join in on an illegal scam — which involved the use of Marty's [[CusCo]] [[credit card]] — to make more [[money]]. Marty was hesitant at first, but went along with it when Needles called him "chicken". Unfortunately, their boss, [[Ito T. Fujitsu]], was monitoring the entire transaction and fired Marty on the spot. Whether Needles himself faced any consequences is unknown; he seemed to be smirking as he hung up, indicating that he set Marty up. However, it is also possible Needles was smirking because of his supreme confidence in pulling off the scam, which may mean that Needles got his comeuppance by Mr. Fujitsu or the plant upper management. Since Fujitsu had monitored the transaction, and quickly fired Marty, he certainly would have fired anyone else involved in the scam. It is also possible that Needles knew that Fujitsu would fire him if he went through with the crime, that he bribed him to keep his job.<ref name="BTTF2"/>
+Just after Marty's return from [[1885]] to 1985, Needles (seen at age 17) met up with Marty and Jennifer at the point where he proposed the race along with his [[Needles' gang|friends]]. This time, however, Marty had learned not to lose his judgment because of name-calling and avoided the drag race by pretending to go through with it, thereby preventing the accident and changing the future. Needles and his gang took off and were nearly the ones to hit the Rolls Royce, but they barely evaded an accident themselves through evasive steering. What this meant for Needles is unclear, although his causing Marty to get fired in 2015 may not come to pass — bearing in mind that the words "YOU'RE FIRED!!!" on the [[fax]] sent to Marty by Mr. Fujitsu subsequently disappeared before Jennifer's eyes.<ref name="BTTF3"/>
+In another timeline, Needles had funded [[GriffTech]] in [[2032]] for its [[ThingMeme]] social network.<ref name="DBSTW">''[[Doc Brown Saves the World]]''</ref>
 ==Behind the scenes==
 * [[Michael Peter Balzary]] (better known as Flea, lead bassist of the rock band [[wikipedia:Red Hot Chili Peppers|Red Hot Chili Peppers]]) played the part of Needles in ''[[Back to the Future Part II]]'', and reprised the role at the close of ''[[Back to the Future Part III]]'' — being billed in the closing credits on both occasions as Flea.
+* In the novelization (see Quote above), Needles' address is given as being 88 Oriole Road, A6TB-94.
 ==Appearances==
@@ Line 43: / Line 62: @@
 *''[[Back to the Future: The Game]]''
 **''[[Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 3: Citizen Brown]]'' {{Mo}}
+*''[[Doc Brown Saves the World]]'' {{Mo}}
+*''[[Back to the Future: Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines]]''
+**[[Back to the Future: Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines 1|Issue 1]]: "[[When Marty Met Emmett]]"
+**[[Back to the Future: Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines 4|Issue 4]]: "[[Peer Pressure]]"
+*''[[Back to the Future: Continuum Conundrum]]''
+**[[Back to the Future 6: Continuum Conundrum Part 1|Issue 6]]: "[[Back to the Future 6: Continuum Conundrum Part 1|Continuum Conundrum Part 1"]]
+**[[Back to the Future 7: Continuum Conundrum Part 2|Issue 7]]: "[[Back to the Future 7: Continuum Conundrum Part 2|Continuum Conundrum Part 2"]]
+**[[Back to the Future 8: Continuum Conundrum Part 3|Issue 8]]: "[[Back to the Future 8: Continuum Conundrum Part 3|Continuum Conundrum Part 3"]]
+* ''[[Back to the Future: Who Is Marty McFly?]]''
+**[[Back to the Future 12: How Needles Got Here|Issue 12]]: "[[Back to the Future 12: How Needles Got Here|How Needles Got Here]]"
+**[[Back to the Future 14: Who Is Marty McFly? Part 2|Issue 14]]: "[[Back to the Future 14: Who Is Marty McFly? Part 2|Who Is Marty McFly? Part 2]]"
+**[[Back to the Future 15: Who Is Marty McFly? Part 3|Issue 15]]: "[[Back to the Future 15: Who Is Marty McFly? Part 3|Who Is Marty McFly? Part 3]]"
+==Notes and references==
+{{Reflist}}
 {{individuals}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Needles, Douglas J}}
+[[pl:Douglas Needles J.]]
 [[Category:Individuals|Needles, Douglas J]]
 [[Category:Needles family|Needles, Douglas J]]
-[[Category:Fathers]]
+[[Category:1982]]
-[[Category:1985|Needles, Douglas J]]
+[[Category:1985]]
-[[Category:1986B]]
+[[Category:1986G]]
 [[Category:2015]]
+[[Category:2032]]

Individuals
The McFly Family Marty McFly \| George McFly \| Lorraine Baines McFly \| Jennifer Parker \| Seamus McFly \| Maggie McFly Dave McFly \| Linda McFly \| Martin McFly, Jr. \| Marlene McFly \| Arthur McFly
The Brown Family Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown \| Clara Clayton-Brown \| Jules Brown \| Verne Brown \| Einstein
The Tannen Family Biff Tannen \| Buford Tannen \| Griff Tannen \| Irving "Kid" Tannen
The Strickland Family James Strickland \| Roger Strickland \| Irene Strickland \| Edna Strickland \| Gerald Strickland
Other Individuals Match, Skinhead & 3-D \| Goldie Wilson \| Douglas J. Needles \| Marcus Irving