Who Had It Rougher: Bruce Wayne or Frank Castle?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

As everyone knows, Bruce Wayne's life was forever wrecked after his parents were murdered when he was a child, driving him relentlessly from a young age to become the fearsome Dark Knight of Gotham City, Batman. Then there's Frank Castle who got to enjoy a normal life, served in the Marines, married and had two kids before they were killed by gangsters, turning him into the remorseless engine of vengeance known as the Punisher. So, who had been shit on by fate more, Bruce or Frank?

[Arvandor]

Bruce can and should have gotten over it. He was young enough to recover. Plenty of kids go through far worse.

Frank lost everything. His family was all he had. He had nothing else to fall back on. No other family, no wealth, no future, no hope.

[Goggindowner]

Speaking as both a son and a father, the loss of my children would do things to me that I would never recover from. The loss of my parents is the natural progression of life.

Frank Castle had it significantly worse.

[t hedge coke]

There's no reasonable way to compare one person's grief at the murder of loved ones, and another person's grief at the murder of their loved ones. One is "worse" or "better" than the other? No.

[Detox]

Speaking as both a son and a father, the loss of my children would do things to me that I would never recover from. The loss of my parents is the natural progression of life.

Frank Castle had it significantly worse.

Seconded. As cold as it may sound, the two are just on different levels completely for me.

[Kusanagi]

No parent should ever have to bury their child. It's a special kind of tragedy. So I give the nod to Frank, though again they both suffered tremendously.

[t hedge coke]

The loss of my parents is the natural progression of life..

Really? Being gunned down in an alley when you're eight? That's the natural progression of life?

(Of course, if we're comparing which one has handled their trauma better... well, Batman wins, clearly. By reason of not being a multiple murder and generally horrible person who occasionally also does a nice thing. But, then, that's what makes Frank fun.)

[lancerman]

Not to minimize it, but Bruce was younger, had another parental figure, was incredibly wealthy, and had the rest of his life to look forward to.

For Frank you don't really rebuild from that.

[DrNewGod]

I won't say either is worse than the other. Batman's is distinct because, while all of us lose the innocence of childhood at some point, Batman's was ripped from him very early. Punisher's is distinct because all his life had been was ripped from him.

[Hero]

Speaking as both a son and a father, the loss of my children would do things to me that I would never recover from. The loss of my parents is the natural progression of life.

Frank Castle had it significantly worse.

Father of two here, and a +1 from me.

[Goggindowner]

Really? Being gunned down in an alley when you're eight? That's the natural progression of life?

(Of course, if we're comparing which one has handled their trauma better... well, Batman wins, clearly. By reason of not being a multiple murder and generally horrible person who occasionally also does a nice thing. But, then, that's what makes Frank fun.)

The loss of MY parents.

But yes, burying your parents is the fate of almost every child.

[Brandon Hanvey]

I think the end of Lego Batman's song makes a compelling argument for the Punisher.

[DrNewGod]

Waaaaiiiit a sec! Is this a closet means of assessing the ages of folk on this thread?

[The Whovian]

This is a depressing thread. I'm out

[t hedge coke]

Waaaaiiiit a sec! Is this a closet means of assessing the ages of folk on this thread?

Since it's "had" and not "is having it rougher," I'd say it's more a gauge of people who feel adults suffer more than children. (Or, a gauge of how little sympathy I can have for a career killer vs a little boy. Six of one, half dozen of my judgmental other.)