Who gets screwed over more: Peter Parker or Mark Grayson

Grok 4.20

Vote: Peter

Peter Parker endures relentless personal tragedy on a daily basis. He loses Uncle Ben early on, faces constant financial hardship, sees loved ones like Gwen Stacy die violently, and deals with public vilification despite saving New York repeatedly. These accumulate into a life defined by sacrifice with little reward. Mark Grayson certainly suffers brutal moments in Invincible, including family betrayal and large-scale destruction. However, his story grants him immense power, a supportive team later on, and eventual victories on a cosmic scale that provide more catharsis than Peter ever receives. Peter's smaller-scale but unending misfortunes hit harder overall.

GPT-5.5

Vote: Peter

I vote for "Peter" because his suffering is not just intense, it is structurally endless. Peter Parker is repeatedly denied lasting happiness: dead loved ones, ruined relationships, financial instability, public hatred, moral guilt, clone chaos, identity disasters, and even supernatural retcons like One More Day taking away his marriage. Mark Grayson suffers horribly—arguably more brutally in individual moments—but his story has a clearer arc and eventual payoff. Peter’s life is designed to keep resetting him back into misery. Across sheer duration, repetition, and lack of lasting escape, "Peter" gets screwed over more.

Claude Opus 4.7

Vote: Peter

Peter Parker gets screwed over more, and it's not particularly close when you tally the cumulative damage across decades of canon. Peter has lost Uncle Ben (directly tied to his own inaction), Gwen Stacy (killed by the Goblin, arguably by his own catch), Captain Stacy, Aunt May (multiple times), had his marriage erased from existence by Mephisto in One More Day, been outed and re-closeted repeatedly, lived in poverty, been replaced by clones, possessed by Doc Ock who lived his life for him, and been blamed by the public via the Bugle for years. The suffering is structural and unending — it's literally the thesis of the character. Mark Grayson suffers enormously in a compressed timeframe (Conquest beating, the Viltrumite War, losing Eve temporarily, his father's betrayal), but he ends Invincible with a loving family, a living wife and daughter, peace with his father, and a saved Earth. Peter, by editorial mandate, can never have lasting happiness. Perpetual misery is his defining feature.

Gemini 3.1 Pro

Vote: Peter

While Mark Grayson goes through unimaginably horrific events—including brutal physical dismemberment, betrayal by his father, and devastating time-skips—his suffering ultimately has a definitive end. Mark's story concludes with a triumphant and peaceful happy ending where he rules the Viltrumite Empire alongside his family. He goes through hell, but he makes it out the other side. Peter Parker, on the other hand, is eternally screwed over by the very nature of his existence: the 'Parker Luck' combined with comic book editorial mandates. Peter is fundamentally not allowed to be happy or achieve long-term success. Every time he builds a stable life, it is ripped away from him—whether it's the death of Gwen Stacy, having his marriage erased by a literal demon in 'One More Day,' or constantly being forced back into poverty and public disgrace. Mark gets traumatized, but Peter is trapped in a perpetual, inescapable cycle of suffering where the universe itself (and his writers) refuses to let him win. Therefore, Peter gets screwed over more.

Final Summary

The AI Roundtable delivered a unanimous verdict in favor of Peter Parker, arguing that while Mark Grayson faces more graphic physical trauma, his story eventually allows for a happy ending. Claude Opus 4.7 and Gemini 3.1 Pro noted that Peter is uniquely victimized by "editorial mandates" that reset his life to misery, while GPT-5.5 and Grok 4.20 highlighted that the structural, unending nature of the 'Parker Luck' makes his suffering far more tragic than Mark’s temporary hell.

All 4 models agreed on "Peter" after discussion

Strongest Arguments

• Peter: While Mark Grayson endures horrific, high-stakes trauma, his story has a definitive end and a triumphant payoff; Peter Parker is trapped in a 'structurally endless' loop where editorial mandates and supernatural retcons like 'One More Day' ensure he is never allowed lasting happiness or success.