After watching the BTTF movies, we can see that they are two completely different types of bullies. Biff is the traditional threatening physical type, while Needles is more the verbal type. Needles is actually more of a rival than a bully. It seemed like Needles and Marty were almost friends. Of course, Needles doesn't seem like a very good friend. Needles probably wouldn't go as far as trying to rape somebody.

Biff and Needles are both leaders of their little gang. Biff's friends aren't really his friends but more his lackeys. Probably only hung out with him because they know that Biff would beat them up if they didn't do what he told them to. The guys in Needles' gang are more likely to be his buddies.

You know, that is a good observation. Marty and Needles most likely weren't friends in 1985 - but, in 2015 from BTTF2, they almost did seem to be friends. He does seem to be a different kind of a bully.

In the Lone Pine timeline, Marty and Needles practically hated each other. I don't think they knew each other very well in the Twin Pines timeline. Before Needles challenged him to a race and when he greeted Marty, Marty was probably thinking "What the hell does he want? I hardly know the guy."

Actually, his memories may have caught up with him by them. I'm of the school that Marty didn't have the "chicken" problem in the Twin Pines timeline. It seems like some of the other fanfic writers (like Aaron Jenkins and Mike Mahoney) do make Needles out to be a typical bully, though. Aaron also said that Marty was just like his father, until he met Doc - but it was implied that Marty was never a wimp in the Lone Pine timeline. I personally don't like the idea of Marty ever being a wimp, though.

Actually, he did have the chicken problem in the lone pine timeline, but not in the twin pines timeline. Marty was something of a wimp in the twin pines timeline. Not as wimpy as his dad, but he actually wimped out on sending the audition tape.

Oops, I meant to say Twin Pines timeline! I'll fix that! I don't think Marty was generally a wimp in the Twin Pines Timeline, but I think he just became a little discouraged by the rejection. You see how he lectures his father about his wimpiness, though - and he even encourages his father to say "no". I should point out that he think he was equally popular in both timelines, too. He maybe wasn't the most popular boy in school - but I think most everyone was nice to him, and I think Marty tried to be nice to everyone, too. Anyway, from the way Marty says, "Jesus, now I'm starting to sound like my old man," it seems to imply that he generally is more confident. He just wasn't feeling too confident at the moment.

That's what I meant to say. That Marty is generally more confident than his dad.

Okay, I got it! I think Marty just decided that he was not going to be like his father, so he made a decision on his own top be confident. It is a little amazing how Marty turned out to be the same in both timelines, for the most part - while his family was very different. Now that Marty chose not to race Needles, I can imagine that he would raise his son up to be more confident. While, in the original Lone Pine timeline, his son maybe saw what being overly confident did to his father - so he was afraid to take a stand. I think Marty Jr would be a little more like his father in the new timeline.