If 1980s cinema can be compressed into a single stereotype, it would be teen movies, several of which have received immense acclaim for their portrayal of an ignored subset of people. Few of them, however, received the same level of iconicity as the Back To The Future franchise, a time-traveling madcap adventure that showed Hollywood how sci-fi and comedy can be a perfect blend.
Direct by Rick and Morty borrows several tangents from the story. The characters in the trilogy are not as surreal, though. Rather, they are humanized, and each possesses a sense of varying morality that can be easily classified under the Dungeons & Dragons alignment system.
Clara Clayton: Lawful Good (Crusader)
Clara Clayton plays a minor role in the movies, but that's because she only appears in the last one. Her Crusader nature is evident from the fact that she makes it all the way to Hill Valley to become a school teacher; she considers knowledge in the science to be of paramount importance.
Clara is extremely disciplined, seeing as she takes no guff even from Buford Tannen, the most dangerous man in town. She is also upset when she believes that Doc Brown is lying to her about his identity, as it is a moral affront towards her.
George McFly: Neutral Good (Benefactor)
George McFly is a gentle soul who wouldn't hurt a fly, which sets him up to be taken advantage of by Biff Tannen, his abusive high school bully who grows up to become his abusive boss in the first film's sequel. Nevertheless, he becomes a Benefactor when he takes a stance against Biff, knocking him out with a single punch upon seeing him assault the love of his life, Lorraine.
This change in the past radically alters the future, and George enjoys a pleasant life as a famous author, getting everything he deserves in life for being a strong, yet comionate, person.
Marty McFly: Chaotic Good (Rebel)
Marty is a happy-go-lucky high school kid, no different from most 80s movie stereotypes. Though his parents aren't exactly ideal—until the time loop is rewoven), he loves his life, mainly skateboarding and his girlfriend, Jennifer.
It is quite obvious that he is a Rebel, rejecting his father's weak-willed attitude towards Biff as an unworthy mantle to inherit. Marty willingly travels to the past with Doc, proving firmly that he finds life more interesting when he does not abide by the strict laws of society—or physics.
Jennifer Parker: Lawful Neutral (Judge)
Marty's girlfriend, who becomes his wife in the future, is Jennifer Jane Parker. She is, in many ways, the antithesis of Marty, being cool, collected, and always offering rational advice to her boyfriend's mopey ranting.
For instance, when his band, the Pinheads, were cut from the Battle of the Bands for "being too darn loud," Jennifer convinces Marty that worrying over it isn't going to solve anything. Being a Judge, she suggests that he should instead send his band's demo to a record company because there is a clear future for him in music.
Lorraine Baines: True Neutral (Undecided)
Lorraine is at the center of the first movie, being the lecherous teenage girl/future mother that Marty has to fight to escape the clutches of. She might seem like a Rebel, à la Marty, but she rather snugly fits into the Undecided category.
Lorraine puts on the role of the perfect daughter in front of her authoritarian parents while simultaneously indulging in cigarettes, alcohol, and "nights out." None of this is necessarily bad, of course, but it only brings out Lorraine's indecisiveness in her own experiences that she tells her daughter Linda "never to sit in a parked car with a boy," because "they'll think you're cheap."
Einstein: True Neutral (Undecided)
Although Einstein shares a modicum of loyalty towards Doc Brown. He is a dog, and, as such, is more interested in liver treats and friendly humans to play with. It is fitting that the first time-traveler in history is an Undecided character, as the role should present no bias or judgment one way or another.
This is probably why Doc tests the DeLorean on Einstein in the first place; as a neutral non-human, no form of national or global authority could stake a claim on his achievement.
Emmett "Doc" Brown: Chaotic Neutral (Free Spirit)
Emmett "Doc" Brown, the man behind the machine, is the reason time-travel is possible in the first place. A stereotypical eccentric scientist, he involves himself in dangerous pastimes, such as ripping off a bunch of plutonium sellers.
As a Free Spirit, Doc doesn't see himself bound to the rules of human psychology—at least, until his meeting with Clara. He has also been careless on occasion, like when he publicly discloses the nature of the DeLorean, prompting ancient Biff to initiate his own schemes.
Mr. Strickland: Lawful Evil (Dominator)
The harsh school principal with a distaste for "slackers," Mr. Strickland despises the entire McFly Clan for their alleged lack of interest in academics. Although it is revealed that he was a comionate man in his youth, even standing up for Biff Tannen in elementary school—but the latter's incorrigibility is responsible for the Dominator that Strickland later becomes.
He doesn't have patience for any sort of tomfoolery, which is certainly important in a teacher, but his dictatorial rules are incredibly cruel and imposed without care for student well-being
Biff Tannen: Neutral Evil (Malefactor)
Biff Tannen is the classic jock antagonist in the series. As is common for of his trope, he isn't exactly smart, constantly mixing metaphors and bullying weak "nerds" into doing his schoolwork. Biff is a classic Malefactor from start to finish, whether it's him trying to rape Lorraine or force Marty into killing himself by jumping off the school roof.
In fact, this nasty trait of his is magnified when the timeline is altered, giving him absolute wealth and control over Hill Valley. In fact, his depiction in the film was apparentlyThe Apprentice.
Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen: Chaotic Evil (Destroyer)
Unlike his great-grandson, Buford Tannen is referred to by "Mad Dog" because he has a tendency of producing excess saliva, as seen in rabid animals. A typical Destroyer, he spends most of his time with his gang of thugs, looting and harassing innocents in 1885 Hill Valley.
Buford develops an inexplicable grudge against Marty's great-great-grandfather, Seamus McFly, as well as Doc Brown, threatening both of them with a gruesome fate. In the unaltered timelines, these two meet their end at his hands, but, with Marty's help and some crazy train-stunts, the future is fixed for good.
