Family Guy Vs The Simpsons (The Dads)

From first glance, the head of both households are bumbling, dumb, idiots.  But if one looks deeper, there's a huge difference between Homer and Peter.  One's idiocy is forgivable, the other isn't.



First, let's take a look at Peter.  Head of the Griffin household.  A bumbling idiot who gets into mishaps seemingly every week.  But he seems lovable and well-intentioned.  Except, he has horrible intentions.  He's not one to refrain from disdain of his own children (i.e. the numerous times he [and the rest of the family] picks on Meg).  He treats his wife (Lois) horribly (i.e. the numerous episodes where he pushes her down the stairs or hits her).  When given the opportunity, he'll happily cheat on her without any remorse (i.e. with Molly Ringwald).  And to top it off, he never really seems to learn a lesson.  All in all, he's just a horrible human being.  But wait you say, he's a cartoon character.  Surely Homer Simpson is no better.  Well, let's see.

Homer has never hit Marge.  When given numerous opportunities to cheat with beautiful women (i.e. his coworker, the country singer, their house guest, etc...) he doesn't.  Yes, he is fairly violent towards Bart (with the strangling), but there are numerous episodes (and a movie) that shows that despite their almost sibling rivalry, the two absolutely love each other (i.e. recently when Homer reverts back to his childhood self).  And we never question his love for Marge.  Does he do things to make her angry?  Yes, absolutely.  Does he do stupid things that a normal person wouldn't do?   Yeah.  But in the end, you never question Homer's love for his family because they always come first.  He always makes that sacrifice.  For Maggie, he gave up millions of dollars to let her keep Mr. Burns' teddy bear.  For Lisa, he damn near kills himself trying to provide for her pony.  For Bart, when he holds Bart up as he gets rammed every which way by reindeer.  And for Marge...well I'll let Homer speak for himself.

We (and his family) love Homer because, in the end, you know he's a good guy.  Willing to do whatever it takes to keep his family together.  Because that's what true love is.

Homer is an oaf, but a lovable and genuine one.  Peter, on the other hand, is a douchebag.  In every sense of the word.  Final case in point: how many episodes show Peter actually parenting his kids?  How many episodes show Homer?  The difference between those two things alone places Homer heads and shoulders above Peter.