What would the sequels be like then?
shareMarty would be a successful entrepreneur as well as launch a few rap acts
shareHehe…yeah, Marty would have been stuck in 1955, but also would have known enough about the future to have financially taken advantage of it.
As a talented musician, he would have beaten The Beatles to the punch since he would have already known the songs before they were actually written 😆.
Doc is smart. He would have found another source for the 1.21 gigawatts, eventually.
shareHe is smart, but he can't break the laws of physics. Other than lightning, where else could he find that kind of power?
Here's my plan: Doc would configure the DeLorean to run on a large circle track connected to a heavy conductor wire like a U-Control wired plane. The wire would be connected to a heavy anchored pier with a slip bearing to allow the wire to rotate around the pier without binding. On top of the pier is a long tower that would attract lighting during a storm and is connected to the slip ring. When a storm approached, Marty and Doc would head out to the track and Marty would get in the car and circle the track at 88 mph until (if) lightning struck the tower Doc set up.
Clunky? Yes..
I'm not sure, I'm not Doc Brown the flux capacitor inventing genius. However, your idea is a good example. There are ways to harness another bolt of lighting if needed. Lightning rods are a good start.
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In all seriousness, the great thing about SciFi is that we can make up our own odd-ball solutions and the ol' suspension of disbelief takes care of the rest.
surely it would be easier to go after plutonium than lightning , even though its not available in every corner shop .
From their perspective...
Doc and Marty would head back to Doc’s house in defeat, but once they arrived they’d find a package at the front door containing the plutonium to get Marty home.
From another perspective…
After failing to harness the lightning at the clock tower, Marty would have to live a relatively secluded life away from anyone in Hill Valley. When Doc finally created the time machine he’d use it (before the parking lot test drive) to put the plutonium at his front door in the past. This would erase the timeline where Marty can’t get home, but also preserve the changes in the timeline that were positive to Marty's family.