When Marty finally gets back to 1985, he finds the world turned on its head, with Biff Tannen in control. Biff has killed George McFly, married Lorraine, and amassed endless wealth thanks to the Almanac his elder self came back to give him.
His Hill Valley is completely different, and it’s best seen by his decision to get rid of the city hall clock tower. It’s the only version of the town seen in all three films with no clock tower. The filmmakers went this route with the Biff timeline on purpose, in order to contrast Marty’s effect on Hill Valley as opposed to Biff’s.
Goofy Headlines
The problem that brought Marty and Doc into the future was that of Marty's son getting jailed, which is humorously on the front page of USA Today. As the characters discuss how to fix it, the eagle-eyed viewer can pick out a few interesting headlines.
At the top of the Newsline is “Thumb Bandits Strike,” a reference to using your thumbprint to get into your home in the future. There's also “Man Killed By Falling Litter,” “President Says She's Tired,” and even “Shredding for Charity.” Plus, at the top of the page, we have some sports headlines: “Slamball Playoffs Begin,” and we really wish we could learn more about that sport, and “Marshall Runs 3 Minute Mile.”
Fading Away
When old Biff arrives in 1955 to give his younger self the Almanac, he's wincing in pain. Most people assume it's from the DeLorean's shocking ride, but it's actually supposed to be because he's fading away like Marty almost did in the first film.
He's going back to change his own future, which eliminates his own timeline. The rest of the shots of his suffering were cut. Pretty gruesome, now that we think about it – but it takes some time for him to disappear entirely, which allows him to get back to his own time and save himself. We think.
The Wildest Man in the West
In the Biff Tannen version of 1985, Marty comes across a TV extolling the virtues of Biff Tannen, and how he rose to power and fame. In this film, it talks all about his family's start, which begins with Mad Dog Tannin in 1885.
This foreshadows Mad Dog Tannen's appearance as the bad guy in "Back to the Future Part III", and is actually the first time in the series that we see Mad Dog as he actually is, not just on shirts or in video games.
Stopped Off in 1989 on His Way to Mount Doom
Remember the befuddled video game player that Marty schools in the ways of video-game zapping in 2015? None other than Elijah Wood in his very first role!
You can just barely see the young man who will grow up to become the famous hobbit of the "Lord of the Rings" series. He was already on his way to acting with the best of them back in 1989. Wood's credentials were set from the start – hard to do better than having your first appearance in the "Back to the Future" films.