Biff Tannen
Biff Tannen is a male film character who features in Back to the Future.
Contents |
Biography
Biff Tannen was the school bully at Hill Valley High in 1955, and despite his low intelligence got by gradewise by picking on George McFly and making him do his homework for him. In the original timeline, George never stood up to Biff and so Biff continued bullying him all his life well into 1985 and became his boss at work as well. However when George's son Marty McFly travelled back in time to 1955, he changed history so that George finally punched Biff in the face during a confrontation at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance, and from then on Biff remained extremely cowardly and subservient around George and his family.
In 2015, a 78-year-old Biff even allowed himself to be bullied by his own grandson, Griff. However after observing Marty McFly and Doc, he realized that the scientist had invented a time machine using a DeLorean. Taking the discarded Gray's Sports Almanac, Biff stole the DeLorean while Marty and Doc were attempting to prevent Jennifer Parker from encountering her future self, and went back in time to 1955 where he gave the almanac to his teenaged self, warning him to be prepared in case "a kid and a crazy, wild-eyed scientist" (Marty and Doc) came asking about the book. He then returned to 2015 where he suffered from a heart attack from the stress of the journey and died (in the original script, Biff actually faded out of existence because by giving his younger self the almanac he set in motion a chain of events where Lorraine McFly shoots and kills him in 1996, because of the events described below).
Using the almanac to bet on sporting events, young Biff made his first million at age 21. His winning streak earned him the nickname "the Luckiest Man on Earth," and after starting his own corporation in the 1970s, BiffCo, Biff became one of the most powerful men in the United States. His influence was so far-reaching that he even had a hand in helping Richard Nixon get re-elected as President of the United States. After a string of failed marriages, Biff, frustrated at not being able to have Lorraine McFly and made even more volatile and cruel than normal because of his wealth and power, killed George McFly and married his widow, becoming stepfather to Marty, Dave and Linda. He soon opened a casino in Hill Valley, Biff Tannen's Pleasure Paradise, by 1985.
All this was undone when Marty was able to go back in time to 1955, steal the sports almanac from the younger Biff after his older self gave it to him, and burn it. The normal timeline was restored, and when Marty returned to 1985 after a detour to 1885 and en encounter with Biff's ancestor "Mad Dog" Tannen, he discovered that Biff was the way he was before: shy and timid following George finally standing up to him at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance.
Overview
Personality and attributes
He was not very bright and only got through high school by bullying George McFly to do his homework for him.
Biff often took pleasure in calling George an "Irish bug", and regularly bullying and tormenting him. He was feared by most of his schoolmates.
The only person he recognized as an authority figure was Mr. Strickland, his high school disciplinary officer.
He developed a particular dislike for manure, displayed when he is shoved into large quantities of it at multiple points in his life.
Biff lived with his grandmother, Gertrude Tannen, at 1809 Mason Street.
By 2015, Biff has a teenage grandson, Griff Tannen, suggesting that Biff had at least one child by 1985.
Biff's great-grandfather was the notorious Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen.
Biff had long coveted Lorraine Baines who did not return the sentiments.
Powers and abilities
Biff Tannen was born an ordinary human being with no inherent special abilities.
In 1955, Biff proudly owned a black 1946 Ford Deluxe convertible which he drove around Hill Valley.
After receiving the Grays Sports Almanac from his future self, Biff Tannen used the detailed sports statistics to place a series of high-stakes bets that systematically dismantled his life of mediocrity and replaced it with a multi-billion dollar empire. He began his ascent by betting on a horse race with long odds, using those initial winnings to bankroll a relentless streak of successful gambling ventures that earned him the moniker of the "Luckiest Man on Earth." This immense wealth allowed him to corrupt local government officials and transform Hill Valley from a quiet suburb into a dystopian, crime-ridden wasteland dominated by his towering casino-hotel, Biff Tannen's Pleasure Paradise. Beyond mere financial gain, Biff used his newfound power to satisfy his lifelong obsession with Lorraine Baines, eventually pressuring her into marriage after he murdered George McFly and used his influence to cover up the crime. By the time 1985 arrived in this altered timeline, he had evolved from a common bully into a powerful, megalomaniacal tycoon who lived in a literal fortress, shielded from the law by a privatized police force and a mountain of blood money.
Notes
- Biff Tannen was created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale where he was portrayed by actor Thomas F. Wilson and featured in the setting of the Back to the Future universe.
Alternate Versions
- In the alternate 1985 timeline, Biff Tannen transformed his life of mediocrity into a multibillion-dollar criminal empire through decades of calculated, high-stakes actions. After receiving the Grays Sports Almanac on November 12, 1955, Biff placed his first winning bet on a horse race on his 21st birthday in 1958, an event that instantly made him a millionaire. He parlayed this initial "luck" into a massive corporate entity known as BiffCo, which expanded into industries like nuclear power and toxic waste disposal. His influence grew so absolute that in 1979, he successfully lobbied to legalize gambling in Hill Valley, allowing him to demolish the city's historic courthouse and replace it with Biff Tannen’s Pleasure Paradise Casino & Hotel. To secure his personal life, Biff murdered George McFly in an alleyway in 1973 and used his vast wealth to buy the police department and cover up the crime. This allowed him to finally force a widowed and financially desperate Lorraine Baines into marriage that same year, making himself Marty McFly's stepfather. By 1985, he had successfully turned Hill Valley into a lawless "Hell Valley," where he had his rival, Emmett Brown, committed to a mental hospital and lived as a corrupt tycoon who settled all disputes with threats or lethal force.
In other media
Television
Video games
Appearances
- Back to the Future:
