Drawing On Time - BTTF: The Marty McFly Paradox

August 15, 2018

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Time for another look at the recent Back to the Future (BTTF) comic books, as we consider the five issue arc “Who Is Marty McFly” (art by Emma Vieceli) along with the standalone follow-up “Stowaway to the Future” (art by Marcelo Ferreira). Both feature stories by John Barber & Bob Gale, with scripts by the former. For those of you keeping track, this will take us from issue 13 to issue 18 (the banner here being the cover to issue 14). What are we in for? Well, consider that the Marty who went back in time at the end of the first movie had different experiences from the Marty we followed through that story… hmmm… let’s dive in.

IDENTITY CRISIS

We open in Issue 13 with Marty rehearsing a new song with his band, “The Pinheads”. It talks about a camping trip, but whereas Marty remembers taking a bus there, the other members remember taking his new truck. At home, Marty is prompted to look back through photo albums, checking what parts of his life he remembers and what parts he doesn’t. His Dad comes in, Marty asking George about what if he’d never had the confidence to write novels. This leads to them having an interesting theoretical discussion on the flow of time.

Marty & George McFly talk time, BTTF Issue 13, page 11

After a subsequent talk with Father O’Flaherty (a religious friend of George’s) about predestination, and a talk with Jennifer (who seems to be waitressing part-time) about some of the changes Marty’s noticed (like the old Twin Pines Mall), Marty heads to Doc’s lab. Where he finds the burglar alarm going off, with a mysterious note inside saying “It’s time we had a talk”.

Issue 14 clarifies the date (April 14, 1986, so about a month after the events of the prior arc) as well as who left the note: one Professor Marcus Irving. Irving provides his backstory. He was approached by General Groves and Colonel Lomax in 1962, which led to him researching time travel. He figured out elements like the time circuits, but one piece (the flux capacitor) eluded him. When the government shut down the project, Irving felt like he’d lost the best years of his life to it. When he then discovered that Doc Brown had been their first choice (see issue 2), Irving set about finding the man.

Irving reached Hill Valley, only to see the DeLorean pull out of Marty’s driveway and vanish in a flash of light. He’s since tried to make a time machine out of a Yugo. Irving cautions Marty that soon nature will replace his “parallel reality” self with the REAL Marty McFly. Concerned, Marty calls in Doc – but this was a trap. As the two of them talk, Irving steals the flux capacitor and the tires off the DeLorean.

IRVING’S NINETIES

Marty talks to… himself? BTTF Issue 15, page 12

Issue 15 begins with Marty seemingly being abducted by three other versions of himself. Doc takes off in the DeLorean to escape (it doesn’t need tires to fly), one Marty in pursuit, as the other two take Real Marty to a garage. Marty tries to reason with his other selves (who never say a word) about the timelines, as Doc realizes Marty’s doubles are merely lifelike animatronic machines. He saves Marty, and they pursue the third robot double, finding him being antagonized by Needles.

Unfortunately, Issue 16 starts by having this last Marty knock out Doc, and then their DeLorean time machine shows up (with new tires) in the control of a future Professor Irving (from 1997). The present day (1986) Professor Irving is still in the process of stealing the flux capacitor; future (1997) Irving is concerned that Marty and Doc might stop his upcoming reclusive research. He brings them to Jan 8, 19654 BC and dumps them in the pleistocene era.

Irving changes plans, BTTF Issue 16, page 18

However, Doc plants the seed of them accidentally changing the ecosystem, recognizing that Irving is concerned about past alterations. So, they only have to survive a short time, before Irving reluctantly retrieves them. He brings them to his present, September 29, 1997, admitting to pulling what Marty calls a “Reverse-Biff” – taking technology from the future and using it in present day. He’s not endangering the past, more altering the future. He then dumps Marty and Doc in a room with a bunch more robot doubles (thanks to said future technology), to dispose of them.

What Irving neglected to consider was that Doc had a recall mechanism for the DeLorean, and it homes in on them to start Issue 17. They use the car to escape, and look into Irving’s “Mai-Tech” company – not travelling back to prevent his theft of the flux capacitor, lest that begin a “reverse time race”. In the process, they discover that Professor Irving’s weakness may be his lonely, reclusive ways.

FIGHT THE FUTURE

Returning to 1986, the duo stop the DeLorean where present-Irving can see it, only to have 1997-Irving show up, telling his robots to secure his past self and destroy anything in their way. Which is what Doc had been gambling on. Present-Irving is so horrified by his future self, and moved by Marty’s subsequent speech about our choices making us who we are (which echoes back to Marty’s own conflict), that Irving destroys his stolen flux capacitor. 1997-Irving fades away, realizing in the end that he’s glad for the man he once was.

Reasoning with 1986 Irving, BTTF Issue 17, page 15

Of course, with all the damage to the DeLorean, we get the standalone Issue 18, with both Doc Brown and Prof Irving working together to fix the car up. As they do, Doc gives Irving some advice on women (as Irving is considering going out with a bystander from the prior events, Gabriela Sanchez). Specifically, Doc relates the time in 1893 that he forgot about his and Clara’s eight year anniversary, and then went to 2017 (in the DeLorean from Issue 11) to find a gift. Not knowing that Verne had come along for the ride.

As Doc goes to pick up an e-book, Verne sneaks out, having overheard that stores were giving out candy in advance of Halloween. Elsewhere, Griff’s crew are planning a drug heist to get bail money for their leader. They use Verne (in his “old west” costume) to gain access to the necessary store, only to get lassoed by the kid as Verne realizes what’s happening. Doc then sees the news and collects his son to return to the past. Of note, the story is broken up by occasional conversations between Doc and the Professor.

IN SUMMARY

While I don’t feel like this arc stands on its own as much as the prior one (“Continuum Conundrum”), it’s an excellent fit for the “Back to the Future” universe. Indeed, one of the topics I’ve seen discussed online is the idea that the Marty who remembers things differently can’t be the same one who travels back – because wouldn’t he have no knowledge of George getting hit by the car? Here we’re presented with a tale that adheres to a “one timeline” model that can still be changed, as Irving does in the end. With the twist that we’re changing the future. (Echos of the end to the third movie?)

Of course, time travel mechanics remain a problem in places, but if Doc can point out the fact that he has a working flux capacitor from 1997 in his car despite Irving destroying it, it shows that they’re aware of the issues. (Irving also brings up the idea of Doc time travelling to track Verne in 2017, with Doc shooting down the idea.) An observant person can also spot lots of subtle details, like Professor Irving in the background of early panels in issue 13, and Jennifer using the term “gallivanting” in issue 14, only to have Marty provide a callback to the term in issue 16. So the arc is definitely worth picking up to see such things for yourself. (Marty even learns about the “internet”.)

Character-wise, Jennifer continues in her role of confidante near the start, and George McFly also proves to be a good sounding board, which makes sense here given how his personality was one of the more drastic changes Marty made in the past. Professor Irving proves to be more than a one-note villain with germ issues, which is good as he’ll be around for more upcoming issues too. And, of course, the art is very well done; I found it to be of particular interest during the scenes set in the far past and in the alternate 1997.

So, have you read this arc yourself, or do you have an opinion after reading this summary? Perhaps you have an opinion about the religious aspects the comic briefly touches on? Or would you be able to point to a moment in your life that marked something of a turning point, the way destroying the flux capacitor altered things for Irving? Food for thought. Thanks for reading, and please do let me know your opinion, if you have the time.