The Needles Guy

so i read this comic ahead of all the other ones bc i heard it was the best one, and as i was reading it i was like hm yknow this would be fun to redraw. like i'm not going to do it, obviously, because that would be a lot of work and i haven't even read all the other ones. but it would be fun! not going to do it though

so erm..... was that a lie or what. i'll be so fr what tipped me over the edge was the "little flaw" bit of dialogue bc i came up with the framing of him being really small in a panel and it was like shittt i'm cooking i gotta draw this. also the double meaning of "little flaw" (marty's existence in the timeline but also just marty himself) just kind of amused me haha

my process for this was to copy down the dialogue and then NOT LOOK AT THE PAGE ANYMORE. so aside from the dialogue and the general actions that the characters were doing, everything on the page was from my own ideas! if you compare the two i might've deviated slightly from the original. just a little. nothing too crazy of course of course. not like i changed like. everything

i am addicted to inserting more panels for every single expression. if you look at the sketch version of page two there was even going to be an extra panel at the end just for an additional expression and no dialogue but it made the page crowded as i was drawing it so i took it out RIP. in the end i drew 25 panels compared to the original's......... 11. oops

re: dialogue inflection i've noticed that comics tend to emphasize at least one phrase per speech bubble. if you read it with said emphasis usually it's alright but sometimes it flows kind of weird? ("wash your hands" is the biggest one here imo) which is why i changed the inflections i thought it flowed better. also i added a couple of minor things (most notably two waitaminutes i think gbgkbjgjk) to make it sound more natural but overall i stuck to what they were originally saying

ok so the "not look at the page anymore" part of the process is entirely false i did look at it again to shamelessly trace that car. so if you were wondering how i managed to draw such a nice car it's because i didn't LMAO. i think you can tell which cars were traced and which ones i actually naturally drew bc some (re: one that i just copy pasted bc i was lazy.) actually look car-proportioned and some (literally everything else sorry marty's truck) do not. also this is why in the 3rd yugo panel there is no lining in the back of the car. there was no back for me to trace and i was tired.

here's the color test (+ learning how to draw professor irving) i did! unfortunately did not have the oversight to color test the background colors too. i was in the art trenches with those. i hated drawing those backgrounds so much you can tell all of them are half-assed GBKGGJ

speaking of colors i think that the first one's colors are better but i was so done with the whole comic making process (aka. the backgrounds) by the second page that i 1. took like two months off of drawing it and 2. just threw shit at the digital page to get it over with LMAO. like sure ig we doin dark red now

also don't look at the backgrounds too hard. the garage/storage unit thing (changed from a truck trailer bc 1. not sure how you'd install a sink in there? the sink in the storage unit was already stretching it. how did you get plumbing in there man that thing's a rental. and 2. no way in hell i was drawing ANOTHER VEHICLE) is very spacially inconsistent and while this annoys me idrc i'm just here to draw characters in situations.

in the original he's wearing his puffy vest over a white shirt and another red shirt (so his normal outfit but To The Left) but i didn't want to draw that so i gave him a different fit. it's based on apparently this photo from the previous issue? i remember seeing it prior to drawing these but i could've sworn his inner shirt was yellow in the picture and also it looked different. guess it was white the entire time? or maybe i have the issue wrong and this is a completely different picture of marty wearing the red sweater + collared shirt combo. oh well

i keep reading "i know who you are" as "i know what you are" and it never fails to be funny to me. leave him alone dawg

tried to make irving a little more menacing in these considering he's a stranger that just happens to know about the time travel stuff and also who marty is and how to contact him? i actually don't really remember how he got this information but i'm sure it was sketchy as hell. also marty just kind of. agrees to go with him? with no further question. by himself. at night. luckily for him this was not irving's current intention but i've learned that marty is very easy to kidnap. he followed directions to the second location so easily. marty have you not heard about stranger danger?? stay safe out there. your list of traumas is already so long you don't need to encourage another one

my favorite bit of framing is the mirror shot. do you guys think the mirror shot is cool i think it's cool. irving my man back up let him wash his hands and contemplate his existence with his personal space intact thanks. my second favorite is irving throwing the napkin bc i think it's funny

last bonus before the conclusion of this post: a doodle i did as i was making these based on my impression of how the comic was going

i didnt know if i preferred the expressions on the evil martys or not so here's the version without them

the coloring on the outfit marty wears in the og cover is kind of mid ill be real. the purple also kind of blended in with the bg so i made him green instead

also about his coloring almost all of his colors aren't seen in the other martys, just so he stands out a little bit more from the rest of them! yeah theres a little bit of overlap but that's for the color cohesion. the rest of them have warm colors + blue so i would like to think the green and grey is a lot more noticable

i changed the two outer marty's outfits so that all of the Evil Martys are wearing something that marty wears in the movies at moments where he could've died. one could argue that the 2015 fit fits into this criteria but i thought getting shot by buford was a little more significant than getting his lights knocked out by griff seeing as the movie built that one up a lot more than the other

also it's a fullbody shot bc. i wanted to

the original rightmost marty is so funny to me. there's fits from the movies and then just a completely random outfit. why is bro colorcoded like the prowler from spiderman? or even doc from the cartoon which actually is a lot more related than the prowler from spiderman so maybe i should've listed him first. i think maybe this suit was actually supposed to be the one he wears when he almost fades out of existence at the dance but the colorist didn't get the memo so that might explain it. maybe i should've drawn that one instead of the 1955 leather jacket but whatever. we ball

Movie[s]: These Martys are from the movies.

Twin Pines: We All Know Him. If you don’t. what

Lone Pine: please insert the spongebob image captioned “aight imma head out”

2015: (slenderman static) collect my fax

Hell Valley/ 1985A: This Marty is canon to the movies, but we never actually see him or know anything about him beyond the life we see around him. Biff becomes his stepfather after George gets killed when he’s 4, and he’s been kicked out of multiple boarding schools and is supposedly in one in Switzerland at the time the movies take place. We also know the state of the world in this timeline, but… that’s all we know. Thus, @chainsaw-headache and @bubbiegummie made this interpretation/design of him, and now we get to speculate what 1985A Marty was like! I linked both of their posts, which go into more depth about him!! He’s also one of Bubble’s Martymania main 3 and has some very interesting interactions with his counterparts. There’s a lot of really really great art of him. Go go go! Seeeee!! #1985a marty

The Draftlings: These Martys are from the earlier drafts of BttF.

by @actuallymartymcfly, #the draftiverse

Fridge/ 1st Draft: To give an overview, he’s more of an asshole than the Marty we got. He pirates movies and he’s called Fridge because he’s from the version of the draft where the time machine was a fridge and required a nuclear explosion to power, before the writers had the thought that children might climb into fridges after seeing the movie and get stuck/die. Einstein is a chimp… I won’t list everything else here because the post goes much more in depth than I could in a brief summary. Go take a look!

Three Pines/ 3rd and 4th Draft: Closer to the Marty we know. His Doc is a hippie. The time machine is the DeLorean we are all familiar, but still uses a nuclear test site to get home. Again, I won’t list everything here because! You! Should! Go read it! Yourself!!!! Because I could not do it justice!! There’s also art!! In the tag!! (By the way, for those of you who have read the novelization, this nuke plot point in the earlier drafts is why that book starts Like That. Whatever version of the script George Gipe had must have still had this opening but didn’t actually use a nuke anymore)

Game[s]: These Martys originate from official BttF games.

[Telltale] Tannenville/ 1986F: Timeline where Kid Tannen never went to jail after changes in 1931. His mafia flourishes and by 1986, the Tannen family runs Hill Valley. This Marty was run out of town in 1984 following a deal that the Tannens would go easier on his dad (who has already been put into a wheelchair by them) if he left. I couldn’t find a design for him, so I made one on the fly (ha)! (I couldn’t really find anything about him, so I guess I could speculate a little…. iiiiiif you want my take on present-day 86F Marty. I think things are probably pretty awful for him, if the Tannens had as far reaching influence as they claim they did. I mean if they had these sorts of connections, they could possibly have prevented Marty from getting any sort of job or discouraged anyone from taking him in, regardless of where Marty went. I think Marty would ended up homeless and just scraping by, and personality wise I think maybe he’d have been the oddest mix of like Twin Pines George and Citizen Brown Jennifer. Like. Idk if you see the vision. The classic Marty stubbornness, but then taken much further to defiance, to a I’m-going-to-vandalize-things-to-stick-it-to-the-world-because-it-sucks kind of level. Then mixed with an extreme case of anxiety and not believing in himself. Aaaand homesick. So, so homesick. I also personally think something similar to what happened to 1985A Doc happened to 1986F Doc, given he was supposedly “Calvin Klein’s” uncle, and who else is going to pay off that $300 debt after “Calvin Klein” disappears? Idk, I really couldn’t find anything on this timeline beyond what happens in the game! I probably didn’t look hard enough. I’m pretty bad at that, I accidentally overlook a lot of things! So I’m so sorry if there was one and I missed it I have sifted through so many AUs 😭) #1986f marty

[Telltale] Citizen Brown/ 1986G by @bubbiegummie: From the Citizen Brown timeline where Doc marries Edna Strickland after changes in 1931 and instead of becoming an inventor, he works with Edna to use technology to create a “perfect” Hill Valley, free of hooligans and disorder. It is a police state and everyone is miserable. Martin is the perfect citizen and has a promising future he has worked hard to solidify. He’s also just as miserable as the rest of this timeline’s Hill Valley, but does believe it to be the “perfect” Hill Valley Edna was striving for. Will do anything to protect it and his future, and as part of Bubble’s Martymania main 3, does not seem to get along well with any of his counterparts. Bubble goes super in depth with his personality and motivations, and there is lots and lots of really great art of him. Go have a look! #citizen martin

[Telltale] Citizen Brown/ CTM [Citizen Time Machine] by @aromantic-ghost-menace: The same timeline as 1986G with a slightly different interpretation. This Martin leans more into the nerd stereotype rather than the teacher’s pet control freak that 1986G is. As such, since Doc is preoccupied running his police state Hill Valley with Edna and uses science to “make things perfect”, the time machine is instead invented by Martin! This AU is distinctly different from Bubble’s, so *both* are worth checking out!!!! Also he’s holding a fidget spinner. If you couldn’t tell what that was. There’s a lot of depth to this AU, and it’s really interesting! A lot of story elements and personality traits have been hammered out and it is 100% worth the read. There’s also quite a bit of art for this one too, so go look! #CTM AU

[Super Adventure Game] Time Loop of Death by @actuallymartymcfly: This is the Marty from the book, Back to the Future Super Adventure Game by Hitoshi Yasuda. It is an interactive book that follows the movie’s plot, but the reader must roll dice and add/subtract a modifier to the result. Much like a choose your own adventure book, there are multiple different endings; this Marty is one who has to go through all/most of the incorrect endings and retry upon death/failure. There is not much to this AU just yet, but we shall patiently wait to see what Leon has in store for him and how he fleshes out! In the meantime, check out 1985PN ;)

Canon adjacent (story differences): These Martys follow canon but diverge at a certain point in the story, either before, during, or after the events of the movies.

Thorn Valley/ 1985PN by @actuallymartymcfly: Marty who follows canon events, except his Needles is significantly more off the rails. This impacts his experiences and personality, leading him to be much more punk and a little faster to fly off the handle. Still the Marty we know and love deep down, but he’s got a lot of backstory changes and development! It’s really interesting and it’s an incredibly in-depth AU, really exploring Marty’s relationship with Needles and how that affects him. There’s a lot of art and comic edits of him, and also so so much more to his story that I couldn’t begin to get into here, so go read read read!!! #pine needles au

1885A by @gloomkeep: This is a Marty whose 1885 became more like 1985A with Buford Tannen basically running the place after killing all of Hill Valley’s marshals and mayor. Marty spends an extra few months in 1885 and it. Doesn’t go super well for him. He and Doc are on the run, and everything is just all round terrible times. Marty watches Seamus die. Clara gets a gun! There is a lot of plot (much much more than I have listed) and many fics for this AU so pop on over and have a look!!!! #1885a

Doomed Pine Twin Pines/ 1985DTP by @futureboiii: Upon returning from 1885, this version of Twin Pines Marty actually does get hit by the train as he tries to jump out of the way, losing a leg in the process. Except, this was not just an unfortunate accident. #BTTF doomed pine AU

Doomed Pine Lone Pine/ 1985DLP by @futureboiii: This version of Lone Pine Marty used his own DeLorean to go back in time to hijack the train that hit DTP Marty with the intention to kill him so he could get his own life back. There’s quite a bit more to this AU, including art, so I’ll leave you to see the rest on your own!! #BTTF doomed pine AU

Canon adjacent (design differences): These Martys follow canon, but have major design differences.

Martee/ Butch!Marty by @bubbiegummie: Marty, but butch! There’s not too many drawings of her but she! Is still worth checking out!!! Go!!

Marie/ Fem!Marty by @fredducinibenson: Marty, but a girl! This is something you gotta see. It’s so awesome. There’s a lot of fantastic art of her (and of other feminized Martys!), I’m always so stunned when it pops up on my feed, go look! #fem marty mcfly

Blarty by @kit-screams-into-the-future: yo listen up here’s a story about a little guy that lives in a blue world and all day and all night and everything he sees is just blue, like him, inside and outside blue his house with a blue little window and a blue pickup and everything is blue for him and himself and everybody around ‘cause he ain’t got nobody to listen (to listen (to listen))

Fishboys: These Martys are aquatic.

(note: octopuses and squids are molluscs, not fish)

MerMarty is an original AU, and the other two are inspired by other media.

MerMarty by @kit-screams-into-the-future: This Marty is an amazing little mermaid. Doc, who is still a physicist but now with the little hobby of fishing, hooks Marty, who pulled on the hook not intending to get caught by it and has to follow for the sake of his hand. It’s a cute story about Marty, who has lived in the ocean his whole life, learning about life on the surface, and Doc getting to learn more about Marty’s kind as well. Obviously I can’t cover the whole story here; The post explains it all, and there are some fantastic comics (as well as amazing art by others), so go check it out!! #mermarty au

Splatoon AU by @mythical-bookworm: Marty that lives in the Splatoon universe! Some really great art here, as well as designs for Jennifer and Doc. It’s a very fun AU idea. I don’t know enough about Splatoon to summarize it well, so go have a look for yourself! #bttfxsplat tag

Luca AU by me: I haven’t done much with this AU besides draw him once and make a silly short comic thing! But he fit into this group too well soo… here he is :) I’m planning to write something for this AU at some point. Maybe.

Cat/ Fox to the Future: These Martys are a tad bit fluffier than in canon.

(Canon-adjacent, design differences)

Fox Marty by @riocinn: Have you ever wanted to see Marty art and content but he’s a fox? YES, you have!!!!!!! Seriously, though, the art is incredible and Rio has some really interesting takes on the movies. And it’s not just Marty, his family have their own unique designs, Jennifer’s a cat, Doc is an owl… the designs suit them all so so well, too. Go check it out! Posthaste!!!

Cat to the Future by @kit-screams-into-the-future: Some really fun anthro designs for the whole BttF cast! Each design really encapsulates the character. You gotta see it to know what I’m talking about so why don’t you head on over? #cat to the future au

Cat to the Future by @hymntoody: Cat Marty! You want to see more of him so bad. You must. I mean, Marty content but he’s a cat?? C’mon… that’s awesome. Lots of great BttF stuff here, including comics and memes, etc. He’s also got designs and content for the other Martys and Martymania. Just a lot of fantastic art! Go look go!!!! #cat to the future au

Pokémon: These Martys are from the Pokémon universe.

Trainer Marty by @blueskyphoenix: This Marty is a Pokémon trainer! He’s got a really cool design, and there’s got interesting in-universe stuff with Doc and Celebi, for those of you who know Pokémon. Even if you don’t, the designs and art are awesome, so go check it out!

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time AU by me: Ahahaha. This was mostly just me making Marty (and crew) into pokémon, but it does tie into a PMD2 AU, which has a very BttF-able plot. Basically, amnesiac Marty travelled back in time to stop an apocalyptic future, but uh. Forgot everything, so. Jennifer has to set him back on track. I worked out a bunch of the details. If you’re interested! PMD2 is, in my opinion, the single best game of the entire Pokémon franchise and holds a very special place in my heart, so I loved being able to fit Marty and the BttF story into it. #bttf pmd2 au

Other Media Inspired: These are Martys from BttF AUs that have been inspired by other media.

Vampire Valley/ 1985V by @ghostsagain112: While technically a Lost Boys inspired AU, she has stated herself that that’s misleading; it’s mostly just an original vampire AU! Jennifer and Marty are vampire hunters, and Doc is a bit more mad scientist, accidentally making vampirism a problem though no one believes him. The different Tannens are all just Biff, an immortal vampire, in different getups. Time travelling vampire hunters? Time travelling vampire hunters!!! It’s a very compelling AU with lots of interesting lore, and some really really great art! Go read and look more into it IMMEDIATELY!! #bttf vampire valley au

Steven Universe AU by @kit-screams-into-the-future: Set in the SU universe, Marty is a gem raised by humans. Doc is also a gem, and when Marty meets him he’s like “woah. You’re like me!” Kit has put together a really interesting and in-depth story set in the SU universe, as well as a very good guide/rundown for those who are unfamiliar with SU (so don’t let that discourage you! Even if you don’t know SU, you can still fully enjoy this AU!). But in short, Marty’s a shapeshifting alien and his human family loves him anyway and he gets into all sorts of hijinks with Doc after he meets him. He’s also in trouble for committing the crime of existing. I couldn’t possibly hope to explain it all here, but head on over to see some incredible art and read everything that he’s written for it! #bttfsu au

Danny Phantom AU by @mythical-bookworm: This Marty has a Doc who built a portal to the ghost world… which then killed him. Kinda. Our favorite time travelling future boy becomes half-ghost half-human! There’s both writing and art for this one, so go check it out! #bttf dp au

Psychonauts AU by @madscientists1mp: This Marty gets psychic powers due to the stress of time travelling! Set in the Psychonauts universe, he awards the main character the Electrokinesis badge upon helping him. It’s a really cool idea! Take a look at the AU explanation and art!!!

FrankenMarty AU by @ifihadanickleforeverytime: Frankenstein AU! Doc uses time travel to gather duplicates of Marty to piece back together to create life. So, Marty is the monster, but though initially Doc is his creator, they fall into more of a father/son relationship. Set in 1700s Germany, it’s a really fun premise with some amazing art to go along with it!! Go have a look! #frankenmarty au

Hotline L.A./ 1989HLA by me: This is my Hotline Miami inspired AU! Graphic violence warning. As a quick summary, Marty gets the ability to reset up to an hour upon death, and through a series of events that occur after the main trilogy, he ends up becoming a hitman. I wrote a fic (and I have another one in the works) that describes the descent and then gives him the Walter White special. The complete summary of that fic is in the post linked. If you’re at all interested. He’s my precious evil little killer. My beloved murder Marty. #1989HLA

Spider-man AU by @finnick-draws: This Marty is Spider-man! And his Jennifer is his MJ. Some really great art here!!! Check!! It!! Out!!

Sonic universe Marty by @actuallymartymcfly: This one seems to be (at least at this point in time) primarily a design difference! But there’s other Martymania Martys that have been sonic-ified and they’re all very cool! Go look!!

PAW AU/ Paw Patrol Marty by @biffbulliedmetoo: Set in the Paw Patrol universe! Marty’s a pup who helps Doc with science experiments. Unfortunately, OP hasn’t posted since 2024, and this is the only post about this AU. But once I stumbled across this one it felt wrong not to include it! Have a read!!

Starlight Express AU by @transmascfly: This Marty is an electric engine. Starlight Express is a 1984 musical about a “young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, that races in a championship against modern locomotives of diesel and electric engines in the hope of impressing a first-class/observation car, Pearl” (thanks Wikipedia). There are some really cool designs for Jennifer, Doc, and many others here! Go check it out! #bttf/stex au

Flash AU by @novaboystars: This Marty is a speedster, which are known to love music, be involved in science, and time travel. So it suits him perfectly! It’s a really fun AU idea. Go check out the post and look at the awesome art!!

Lapse AU by @mythical-bookworm: This Marty is from the Lapse universe! I don’t know anything about Lapse, but from what I’ve managed to gather, it’s set in 2075 (though the AU takes place in 2150?) and there is an entity that goes just by Time that is aware of all disturbances in their domain… you see where this is going. The main character of Lapse, who was once the leader of a nation in a post apocalyptic future, is enlisted to find the time travellers. There are some really interesting details and plot points here, as well as art, so have a look! #lapsexbttf crossover

Original AU: These are Martys that come from original alternate universes.

Fossil Hunters by @carrotsofthepirabbean: This Marty works with Doc as a paleontologist! This is such a fun AU and there is art and fics and the premise is so so good! Go check it outttt!!

Immortal Marty by @madscientists1mp: This Marty is immortal after repeated exposure to the flux capacitor, and also gets stuck in 1885! He ends up losing his memories, becomes very protective of the clocktower, and quite sunburnt. It’s really really interesting so go look!!

The End by @mythical-bookworm: This Marty is navigating a zombie apocalypse. It’s Doc and Marty against the world, and there’s a lot to this story! Really, go have a read! You know you want to!! #bttf apocalypse au

21st century Marty by @theblueskyphoenix: This Marty is from the 21st century! He has a youtube channel where he posts music and covers, and he and Doc make science videos and build PCs. It’s a really fun idea and the design is awesome! Go have a look!!!

Trinity by @daryfromthefuture: AU where Marty gets stuck in the 1940s, and stays with the Doc from that time. An incredible storyline following Marty and Doc during the Manhattan Project, the shenanigans they get up to, as well as the guilt and turmoil that comes with it. Marty does eventually get to follow his music career, we get father-son Doc and Marty, I mean, what more could you want? Check it out!!

Ashen Pines by @rose-of-pollux: This is an AU in an alternate 1971 where the Cold War goes hot and Doc, having worked on the Manhattan Project, has to go on the run. However, because Marty’s family died, Doc gets son. And son makes everything okay even when it’s really not. So with introspective sad Doc plus adorable kid Marty, it’s a really sweet but heartbreaking AU and definitely worth the read!! #Ashen Pines AU Timeline

Kronos AU by @duckidrawzz: This is a Marty who, when he time travelled, gained time powers. There unfortunately isn’t a lot of content for this one, besides one other post, and OP isn’t super active, but it’s still a really interesting read nonetheless!

Roles Reversed by @b33brained: Age swap AU where Marty is Doc’s age and vice versa! Though my drawing kind of implies otherwise (went off of this post), Marty’s actually a musician that made it semi-big in the 60s and is the town crazy person in the 80s. It’s Emmett who makes the time machine still, but would have been unable to if not for his friendship with Marty and the confidence that gave him. It’s a fun AU with a few fics to go with it and some really really great art!!!

Again, I know for a FACT I must have missed so so many of them, but I’m afraid that is the nature of such things, especially when I’m as new to Tumblr as I am… even two months later, the navigation here is not something I am used to and these search features confuse me greatly. I just barely managed to format this, and my Google history is full of “how do you do ___ on tumblr”. So if you’re reading this, and I missed your Marty, I’m so sorry! Send me an ask w the details/ linked post and I’ll draw him (or her👀) as I have this lot.

Additionally, if there’s duplicates of any of these AUs I missed, because sometimes people have similar ideas but the details vary greatly (everyone has their own unique take on an idea and it’s wonderful!), I am also very sorry!! Again, let me know and I’ll draw him!