#leonwrites

1982:

How Pine Needle Met Emmett: Marty was already wearing the denim bomber jacket and tearing up his shirts, but only just a little bit- As opposed to the simple red t-shirt and jeans of the original story. Everything else remains identical.

The time in-between:

Marty started dying his hair dark brown at one point (Comparison below). It started out looking like Marty's hair in "Who is Marty McFly?", slicked back with a stubborn strand or two- He's since let it grow out and started styling it a little more. These stubborn strands are a consistent presence.

1984:

Smaller details: Haircut is this. That's all I have to say. bubble's original doodle would be how his bangs look tho because i like them and you gotta have that left part!

Basic Outfit: Retains the ripped up red t-shirt and the bomber jacket, though the shirt has since been ripped up further. Switch out regular jeans for ripped ones (dark wash) and sneakers for combat boots.

"Keeping Up Appearances": The ripped up t-shirt is switched out for black suspenders, a white t-shirt, and a purple button-up (long sleeve, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows). Said button-up has the same pattern as the original Marty's but turned around to form a diamond pattern instead of a square one. i cannot find like. a png of the pattern anywhere but it's not hard to imagine. we all know that pattern.

"Spare Jacket": Due to the paint stains on his clothes from the trap in Doc's Lab, Marty subbed out his usual clothes for the rest of the week, wearing a dark blue denim jacket, blue t-shirt, and non-ripped jeans.

"Blood Spills": The outfit mentioned above, but with the black suspenders, white t-shirt, and purple button up. This jacket ends up sitting in Marty's closet for a while, the blood stains still present.

After this, Marty now starts sporting an undercut, not unlike his adversary. He prefers to simply trim around it (i.e. tapering it) every few months rather than shaving around it. "It looks better", after all. He also starts wearing black nail polish and subtle eyeliner.

"For the Next Two Weeks": As Marty ends up needing about two weeks to recover from his injury, he's excused from school and ends up spending most of his time in bed. He's just wearing a dark blue tank top with his lavender briefs. When Jenn comes to visit, he tosses on some grey sweatpants.

"All Roses Have Thorns": Modification of the base outfit. Straps now hang from his belt, with the belt having small metal studs made of the same material as his jacket's buttons. His mirrored aviators are on nearly all the time. He wears black fingerless leather gloves, and his boots now have steel toes (put on by Doc at Marty's insistence).

All Roses Have Thorns' Jacket: The centerpiece of "All Roses Have Thorns"- There's now a few small spikes on his jacket, put on by Jenn and the same material as his jacket's buttons. There's a dark red rose embroidered onto the back of the collar with thorns extending out from the middle by Jenn. They extend enough to cover halfway around the sides, enough to sort of "peek-out". The pins (he didn't start wearing them until now) are the same with minor differences- The Fender P Bass pin is instead cherry red with a black pickguard, and the boomerang pin is dark blue with the pattern being red (representing the spare jacket and the blood now spilt onto it). There is also a fourth pin- A red rose (the one pictured here is one from the 80's, and is quite small- one inch long! it fits in well, right?).

1985

"Life Preserver": Same as the outfit in the film, but with "Keeping up Appearances" as the base. He also wore sneakers (Blue Bruins, as opposed to red) instead of his boots.

1955 (General note: Marty's hair is always slicked back with Vaseline Hair Tonic)

"First Day of School in '55" (Letterman Version A): Single color change- The pattern is dark blue instead of cyan.

"Skateboard Chase" (Letterman Version B): Same with a single color change- The chain pattern is blue instead of red.

Letterman Version C (Long sleeve, Pale pink): Now a pale purple, as opposed to pale pink, with pale blue detailing, as opposed to pale teal.

"That Zoot Suit": The same, though the tie now has a very subtle rose pattern, and the tie clip has a rose instead of some generic flower. There is now a small lapel pin with a burgundy rose on the end of it attached to the left side of the suit's collar. He ends up hanging onto it, shoving it into the pocket of his jeans- He wears this pin whenever possible across the trilogy, often if not always on the right side of his collar- The same side as his scar.

2015

Marty Jr. Disguise: White T-shirt as a base. Hair gel used to make his hair resemble that of his perpetually soaking wet cat of a son. This is when he finds the lapel pin is still in his pockets. He ends up pinning it onto his t-shirt. This is when he starts seeing it as a good luck charm.

47 year old Marty: The same. Literally the only one completely unchanged. He doesn't even have the lapel pin on.

Detour to 1985A:

Marty ends up getting a few tears in his shirt after getting it caught on something- Mostly in the form of some small holes. It now bears minor resemblance to the one Needles wears- Much to his chagrin. After dropping off Jennifer, he asks Doc to hang onto the lapel pin for him. It likely would have gotten broken if he hadn't- And that would have had him devastated.

1955 (again)

"Something Inconspicuous": The now-torn white shirt is the base. Lapel pin on the right side of the collar.

"Delgado Mine": "Skateboard Chase" as the base, with the tan overcoat being more of a mix between tan and brown, and having the lapel pin stuck below the right side of the collar due to the material it's made out of.

"Atomic Cowboy": Same. You can't change perfection. Marty left the lapel pin in the DeLorean (either pinned it onto the ridiculous hat or put it somewhere like the glovebox. probably the latter), and retrieved it later. Another situation where if he wore it, it very likely would have been broken- For a while, he thinks that if he had, he wouldn't have gotten almost hanged. He eventually gets that off his mind- It's better that he's still got it. He ends up hanging onto the red bandana, keeping it in his pockets until his last day there (see: Clint Eastwood). Hair isn't gelled down- He was planning to, but the bear threw a wrench into that.

1885

"Festival": The same. Lapel pin on the right side of the collar, again.

"Clint Eastwood": The same. Red bandana from "Atomic Cowboy" tied around the left upper arm. Lapel pin in the middle of the poncho, at the very top of the neckline and hidden under the blue bandana.

1985- Again

"What, You Think I'm Stupid Enough to Race That Asshole?": it's just clint eastwood wit no hat but this is beautiful and symbolic

You could also call it "Nobody Calls Me Chicken. And Needles' a Nobody."

A little fun fact... He kept some fabric scraps recovered from the destroyed DeLorean, mostly those of his button-up. A small reminder of what he's been through.

Post-Part III:

"This Rose Still Has Thorns": The same as the original "All Roses Have Thorns" with a few additions. Marty now has the lapel pin... you'll never guess... That's right! The right side of his collar. The red bandana is tied around his left arm. He doesn't always have these extra accessories on, i.e. they're shoved into his pockets. Force of habit.

now, credits where they're due: @bubbiegummie for art

As usual, the main character. Sometimes, we call him pincushion. Everything Needles says about him, be it true or not (often, the latter), is like a pin being stuck into his skin, and it'll stay there for a while. He's much more prone to flying off the handle, especially if you question his bravery. And that's how Needles gets him. At 14, Needles always got the upper hand on Marty, often getting him covered in bruises and scrapes, as he was much skinnier then.

By 16, Marty had evened out the playing field somewhat, though not completely, having gotten a lot stronger, and he often forgets his own strength. At that same age, Marty got the scar on his right cheek, inflicted by Needles. This is also why he got the undercut. The asshole had chopped off some of his hair. When he got home, Linda evened it out to an undercut. Nobody expected he'd keep it. When he woke up the next morning and removed the dressing Doc had placed onto his injury, he could see the scrapes were rather deep.

By 1985, Marty's typical clothes consisted of this: A red t-shirt he'd ripped up himself, torn up jeans, a denim jacket that had a few spikes attached onto it, a belt with straps hanging off the side (not too long, otherwise Needles would be grabbing onto them), fingerless leather gloves (they give him better grip), and combat boots with steel toes (he'd asked Doc to but them on).

But, usually, before he left for the day, he'd switch out the torn up t-shirt for a white t-shirt and purple button-up, with the long sleeves rolled up. The latter has a pattern on it (think the same one on main timeline Marty's shirt but turned to make diamond shapes instead of squares). And the belt switched out for suspenders. This is what he wore instead of his ripped up t-shirt when he traveled to 1955. Regardless of whichever outfit he wore, he often wore his sunglasses and practically never took them off.

Marty believes in not directly punching/kicking Needles. Instead, he'll use Needles' moves against him. At worst, he'll back up into a wall or elbow him in the stomach while Needles tries to hold him down. He's learned to read the rather unpredictable Needles like a book, becoming unpredictable himself. He tends to be rather smug, even prideful.

He very much prides himself on being better than Needles in his behavior, attitude, so on so forth.

This, however, stems from his low-self esteem and his desire to not stoop to his bully's level, not sheer arrogance. He's been a "better person" (for lack of better words) than Needles the whole time, and that's how he befriended Doc (he let the mask slip almost immediately) and why Jenn loves him. He's not much different to the original Marty in his personality (and the same goes for his interests). He's very much cynical, but his stoicism is a switch that flips whenever he's not comfortable being vulnerable (so, when not around Jenn or Doc). He's been talking the way the original Marty does in Part 2 and 3, with a deeper tone and a more rough sound to it.

He got bit by the cynicism bug a lot sooner.

He's also not very great at hiding his anger, something Needles revels in. The word "fuck" is very present in his vocabulary. But he tries not to cuss around adults, though he's gotten less controlled around Doc.

Marty's haircut proved to be a frequent source of embarrassment in 1955 alongside his "life preserver" vest. '55 Doc using the Vaseline Hair Tonic to help him blend in ended up putting the idea in his older self's head of using hair gel to help Marty stick out less when Part 2 kicks off.

Marty is also very agile, much more than his original counterpart. Having to run from and outsmart Needles on a daily basis has made him much better, almost perfect. He almost never finds himself almost stumbling after quickly turning on a skateboard (or hoverboard). He's always landing on his feet and keeping balance. His reflexes are also extremely well trained, often being able to block and counter Needles's punches or even grab his fist before he can even try and make contact.

Outside of confrontation, though, he's no less clumsy than the original. Maybe even a little more.

There's one other person Marty hates as much as Needles; Biff Tannen. Marty has to stop himself from socking that bastard in the face often. And when he goes to 1955? He's not holding back any longer. The fact Biff actually shows concern towards him regarding Needles when he returns home shocks him to the core. Even before he left, he still regarded Biff as less bad than Needles.

It's not uncommon that people are scared by him, especially with the sunglasses on.

Needles also often makes fun of him for the black nail polish (Jenn's idea), and the eyeliner. That's the one thing he doesn't care about because that's low, even for him. He's rather adept at applying the later in a very subtle manner. He's also rather good at styling his hair to make his undercut more subtle, of which he's done frequently on his journey through the flow of time.

Douglas Needles. Marty McFly's greatest adversary... And for the longest time, the only one. Ever since Needles moved to Hill Valley, he made it his goal to torment Marty.

His original counterpart, on the other hand... Well, he's got problems- But he has the potential to be better. He pushed Marty away with his underhanded behavior, but after the trilogy, he's been changing- And a fair bit at that.

But 85PN has a few screws loose. Think more like Griff or Biff (specifically during the tunnel chase tho), rather than a mere rival with a mean streak.

Original Needles punched Marty once. He's never gone through with 99% of his threats. 85PN always does. He's directly responsible for the scar on Marty's right cheek, and why he started sporting that undercut.

85PN Needles at first doesn't look too different from his original counterpart- But 85PN Marty would describe him as "flashy". His design is directly lifted from the IDW issue #12 cover, which is a very detailed design that heavily deviates from the one in the films.

In school, he doesn't leave Marty alone even when Mr. Strickland's watching. Outside of school, on the other hand-

Excerpt from Pinpoint Pressure:

"I've never seen Needles do anything like that when in school. He quite enjoys slamming Marty up against the lockers, and that's about it..." - 85PN Jenn

"Because he's smart enough to do it outside of school. He's punched me in the face or slammed me up against a wall more times than I can count." - 85PN Marty

Needles' behavior has been ramping up more and more, reaching it's peak just before sunset on December 1st, 1984. He intended to ruin Marty's 'pretty face' (paraphrased from what he overheard Jenn saying) and mess up his hair. He thinks Jenn's shallow, so he's gonna mess with the things he overheard her gushing about. Color him surprised when Marty not only comes to school after recovering from his injuries with a much rougher demeanor and an undercut, but that Jenn still likes him. He mocks Marty with the fact he'll never face any consequences for what he's done.

Which, isn't really true. Marty's outsmarted him more times than not. He's also gotten a steel toe to the shin many a time.

Why was he bothering Jenn? Marty assumes he was doing it on the spot, but Needles' overheard her many a time talking about Marty. She's liked him for a while.

Excerpt from Peer Pressure:

"I think I still like him. I should've- No." - 85PN Jenn

"I still like her. Why do- Why should I care what Needles says? He doesn't even like her anyways... He just wants to get in my way." - 85PN Marty

As Needles is a character originally only present in the sequels, and with very little screentime, his role becomes that of an overarching antagonist.

The reason Marty starts picking fights with a teenage Biff. Why he always gives in to being called a chicken. You can even argue he's indirectly responsible for the fact Marty almost got killed by Mad Dog Tannen. Many of Marty's choices that deviate from the original timeline are also indirectly his responsibility. His perspective on many things- Most notably, on Marty Jr.- Is influenced by his treatment by and even what Needles tends to call him.

"[Marty Jr.]'s a wimp! Like dad was... Like I am." - 85PN Marty hiding behind the Cafe 80's counter

He pops up a bit in Part 1, though (yes- I actually do want to rewrite the movies and I have some fun stuff in mind). He is also a major player in a Part 1 prequel based on the film's original opening where Marty escapes from detention so he and his band can audition to play at the school dance (though here, Marty is trying to escape to get away from Needles just in general)

Here's your next hint!

And here's a tiny version of Mrs. Born a Nun herself

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