FAQ for
Back to the Future Part II (1989) More at IMDbPro »

When Biff returns the DeLorean to 2015, it is the alternate timeline he returns it to, not the original one. We are unable to see any changes as they are all outside, and they did not spend much time in 2015 after that. The BTTF writers confirmed this in their FAQ.

Alternatively, from Doc and Marty's point of view the ripple effect would need time to catch up. They will experience two different timelines - one where Biff returned the DeLorean to the original 2015, and one where the ripple effect had caught up and the DeLorean was returned to the alternate 2015.

According to the writers, Biff was murdered (possibly by Lorraine) in the new alternate timeline he had created. He would therefore have been dead in 2015, and the pain was that of being erased from existence. This is the same pain that Marty goes through during the dance in the first film. In the deleted scenes for the movie, Old Biff is seen collapsing and then fading out of existence a few moments later.

The DeLorean does not hit 88 by spinning; the force of doing so would have resulted in Doc being killed by the impact. Those who've watched that part of the film closely say that the DeLorean only wobbles and then pitches upwards slightly before vanishing, which would have been far from fast enough to get it up to 88mph.

The most likely answer is that the three lightning bolts that struck the DeLorean gave it a power surge that overrode the need for it to accelerate to 88, by going straight into the flux capacitor and activating it.

Depends on how detailed and varied the statistics are. We only know that it has the scores of various games and the winners of some horse races. With small enough font, the almanac could accomplish this - or by using a cross table, which could fit a whole season of results on half a page.

Where is 2015 Doc?

Well there are 3 possible answers here.

1, He's dead.

2, He's alive, we just don't see him.

3, I'll explain in the next section.

I know what you are thinking. Doc was 65 in 1985, so he would have been 95 in 2015...unlikely (though not imposible) that he was still alive right? read on...

How old is Doc?

When in 2015 the 1985 Doc does state he went to a "rejuvenation" clinic and "added a good 30 to 40 years to his life." Let's just say it was 40 years "added" to his life. Depending on how you use the word "rejuvenation" eg: to make young again; restore to youthful vigor. This would now make Doc 40 years "younger" than he really would naturaly be. Doc was 35 in 1955, so 65 in 1985. But now he is 40 years "younger". So the once 65 years old Doc is now only 25 by the time he and Marty go to 2015 together. Doc is now "younger" than 2015 Marty is. So he could very much stil be alive in 2015. Even if we say he only added 30 years to his life, he still would have been "young" enough to stil be alive in 2015. (I know, hurts the brain doesn't it?) Yes Doc still does look 65 (hair, etc), but he went to a "rejuvenation clinic" not a plastic surgeon. (which is why the subtle joke about when Doc peels off the "age makeup" and asks Marty what he thinks, Marty is clearly less than impressed as Doc pretty much looks exactly the same.)

Keeping all that in mind... Now for the 3rd answer to the first question.

Where is 2015 Doc?

3, Doc does not return to his original time. (see the end of BttF III)

Now going by what we have seen in all 3 films.

1, Einstein being the first time traveller does not bump into his future self. This is due to the fact Einstein does not go back to his original time (albeit only one minute). So therefore a future Einstein can NOT exist.

2, Marty & Jen DO see themselves in 2015. However, they do eventually get back to 1985 (thier original time) so can exist in the future.

So where is 2015 Doc? Just like Einie in part I but unlike Marty & Jen in part III. Doc does NOT return to his original time, but instead decides to stay in 1885 in Part III, so he can NOT exist 30 years in the future. Thirty years after the events of the trilogy, Marty and Jennifer are 48 and living out their life in 2015, Doc would be married to Clara and (provided he is still alive), would be living in 1915.

We see only 3. At the point in which we see Old Biff give the Almanac to young Biff, there are only 3 Deloreans, the highest number *from our point of view* at a time during any period in the Trilogy.

(1) Delorean that Marty(1) took to 1955 to escape the Libyans.

(2) Delorean that Old Biff took to 1955 to give Young Biff the Almanac.

(3) Delorean that Doc and Marty(2) took to 1955 to Retrieve the Almanac.

The 4th Delorean in question (from 1885 in the mine) does not actually exist in this period and won't until Doc gets struck by lightning at 930 in the evening. When Doc is struck by lightning, the timeline instantaneously changes around Marty, in this new timeline, Western Union comes to deliver the letter at 931 to Marty and the Delorean is now inside the mine.

When Old Biff was in 1955 to give the book to Young Biff, that was in the timeline before Doc was in the past, Doc was not in the early history books and the Delorean certainly was not buried in the mine.

However, while it is *entirely true* that *we* do not ever witness a moment in the films where all four instances coexist, but the text "from our point of view" above should hint at a solution. Once the DeLorean is sealed in the mine in 1885, consider what it would detect (if it were in a position to witness the comings and goings of its former selves): over 70 years of peace, then (1) arrives, then (2) and (3) arrive in some order; (2) then leaves at 6:38, (3) leaves around 10 pm, and (1) leaves at 10:04. (4) itself leaves soon after that. If we grant that all three of those instances (1-3) continue to exist in the "final" timeline, then there should be no problem accepting this theory. Still not convinced? Consider the 100-year gap near the end of BTTF III when Marty takes the DeLorean on its final journey. 70 years into it, for a few hours, there are 4 instances of the car.

There probably are, just in different places. Doc recorded Marty Jr.'s movements, went back to get Marty, then landed in a different spot to avoid a paradox.

At first, this appears to contradict Back To The Future (part 1) where Doc Brown demonstrates the time traveling capabilities of the DeLorean to Marty by sending Einstein 1 minute in the future, and when Einstein arrives, there is only one Einstein and not two.

However, at no time ever does Einstein return back one minute to the past. He continues living on one minute in the future.

We know that 1985 Jennifer and Marty return back to 1985, so their 2015 selves are most likely a continuation of themselves after returning back to 1985. Since Doc has every intention of returning Marty and Jennifer to 1985 there is no reason they should not exist in 2015.

It's not the number 99. The fire marks are the tread marks of the DeLorean when it goes back in time. Apparently the DeLorean does a loop and hits 88 MPH and goes back to the Old West.