The Libyans are the overarching antagonists of the 1985 sci-fi comedy film Back to the Future, the first installment of the Back to the Future trilogy.
The gunman was portrayed by the late Richard L. Duran, and the driver was portrayed by Jeff O'Haco.
History[]
The Libyans are a group of terrorists who decide to create a nuclear weapon and solicit Dr. Emmett Brown in this project. However, Brown stole plutonium from them to operate his time machine and gave them a box full of pinball pieces in exchange. This theft is reported on TV, as seen in Emmett Brown's house. What the scientist ignores is that the Libyans intend to take revenge and kill him later.
While Marty and Doc are in the parking lot of the Twin Pines Mall with the time machine, a van approaches and Doc realizes in horror that the terrorists have managed to find him. He decides to diversion and is quickly killed under the horrified eyes of Marty. The Libyans then target Marty but fail to kill him. Marty decides to board the DeLorean and the terrorists chase him with their van in the middle of the parking lot. The gunman fails several shots and then takes out a rocket launcher. Marty accelerates the car and is accidentally thrown back thirty years.
The Libyans are only seen one last time at the end of the film, when Marty returns in 1985 and sees the chase scene between his other him and the Libyans. As the car disappears in the past, the terrorists' van crashes in a Fox Photo stand. It is unknown whether they were injured or killed in the accident as they are no longer seen afterwards.
Although they killed Doc the first time, when Marty returned to the past, he wrote a letter foreshadowing Brown's fate and he took the necessary precautions to survive the attack.
Trivia[]
- Although they are minor villains, it was the Libyans, along with Doc, who caused Marty to travel to 1955 (by accident), making them indirectly responsible for the plot of the film.
- The inclusion of the Libyans generated controversy around the film's original release, as Libya at the time was notorious for sponsoring terrorist activity under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi.
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 Villains
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Biff Tannen's Gang/BiffCo Griff Tannen's Gang Buford Tannen's Gang Tannen Crime Family Others | ||