backtothefuture
Someone has crudely altered the "I" in Hill Valley's greeting sign — which is riddled with bullet holes — so it reads "HELL VALLEY" instead.

Someone has crudely altered the "I" in Hill Valley's greeting sign — which is riddled with bullet holes — so it reads "HELL VALLEY" instead.

"He [Marty] walked past the "Hill Valley - A Nice Place to Live" sign. It was riddled with bullet holes."
—From Back to the Future Part II by Craig Shaw Gardner (quote, page 107)
Marty: "It's like we're in Hell or something!"
Doc: "No, it's Hill Valley, although I can't imagine Hell being much worse."
Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown in 1985A

"Hell Valley" was an alternate name for Hill Valley in the nightmarish alternate timeline where Biff Tannen had used the Grays Sports Almanac to amass a fortune by successfully betting on sporting events and now controlled the city.

History

Due to Biff's actions in the new timeline, Hill Valley had been turned into a crime-infested place where criminals and biker gangs made their home. Much of the town had fallen into a dilapidated state where the highly corrupt police department — which was owned by Biff — was unable to cope with the constant street violence plaguing the neighborhoods. Murder, robbery, and extortion were rampant, and the citizens had to rely on their own means to stay safe at night.

It was mentioned by Stanford S. Strickland that approximately six years before, in 1979A, the high school had been destroyed in a fire, quite possibly due to arson. Doc's laboratory had also been heavily ransacked.

The city had also become home to Biff's toxic waste industry, and a new dioxin plant was expected to be constructed at the time of Marty's arrival.

The greeting sign was defaced with spray paint and crudely altered to this name, as well as having been riddled with bullet holes and knocked to the ground.

Marty also likened being in 1985A to Hell. Ironically, the center of this particular hell was called "Paradise" as it had become the home of Biff's personal empire. The square was dominated by strip clubs, bars, porno theaters, among other thing servicing the city's thriving gangland.

After Marty and Doc traveled back to 1955 in the DeLorean time machine to retrieve and destroy the Grays Sports Almanac before Biff could make any use of it, Hill Valley was restored to its rightful state and Biff's control over the city was erased from history.

Timeline

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

Behind the scenes

Appearances

See also

References