WARNING: The following contains spoilers for F9, now in theaters.
In the first Fast & Furious film, one of the biggest revelations about Dom's (Vin Diesel) past was that he almost beat a guy to death with a socket wrench. However, as Brian (Paul Walker) went undercover, it turned out Dom was sort of justified in his rage and emotions as the guy accidentally caused the death of his dad on the track. F9 dives further into the backstory and explains the mystery of how the incident really played off, and why Dom went to jail in the first place.
This chapter has many flashbacks. It's all about the Toretto legacy and Dom wondering if he pushed his younger brother, Jakob (John Cena), away and into a life of crime. It turns out, at the 1989 race, Dom's dad, Jack, was ahead but another driver -- Kenny Linder -- kept on his tail to pass his car.
It culminated in a risky move where Kenny clipped the tail of Jack's car. The vehicle pitched into the air, hit the wall at 120 miles per hour and blew up. Dom tried to get to the car but was held back as his dad burned to death. Dom later found out there were some engine issues, and a week later, he discovered Kenny inspecting the car.
Kenny claimed to be there to pay respects but an already suspicious and enraged Dom lost it. It didn't help that Kenny dropped snide remarks as he didn't like the hot-headed Torettos, which lead a teenage Dom to beat him with a garage tool. It alters the initial story a bit as Dom made it seem like he randomly snapped. That said, Dom's pulled off by his comrades and was later arrested, kickstarting the family divide.
Dom did a stint in jail, but there, he learned more about engines and realized someone tampered with his dad's car. He deduced it was Jakob, who attended to the car in the pit. When he was released in '91, he raced his brother and won, banishing him from LA. Jakob stayed with their dad's friend and mechanic, Buddy, for a while before moving on to a life of violence with the government, only to turn on them and become a terrorist.
However, tone more twist to came as Dom discovered their dad wanted Jakob to mess with the car because he had to throw the race to clear up some family debt. So as much as Dom felt like others were to blame, it was indeed his dad, adding another layer to his mantra of a family doing what they need to in order to survive. Dom ended up taking his son to the track to get over these demons of old, realizing he needed to be better as well.
Directed by Justin Lin, F9 stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell and Charlize Theron. The film is in theaters now.