The Simpsons and Family Guy have shared a somewhat tricky relationship. Debuting in the shadow of the former, Family Guy has often been compared — not always favorably — to the classic animated series. They’ve even gotten the chance to hash out their differences in a crossover episode, where Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin fought and the latter was declared the victor, but there’s evidence from The Simpsons to suggest that Homer might just be too tough of an opponent for Peter to put down for good.
“The Simpsons Guy” from Season 13 of Family Guy saw the Griffins leave Quahog after Peter enrages the local town’s female population. After stopping near Springfield, the Griffins meet the Simpsons and get to know them. Lisa and Meg bond, Stewie begins to hero-worship Bart and Chris teams up with Brian to find a lost Santa’s Little Helper.
Meanwhile, Homer and Peter become friends and explore the town while searching for Peter’s car. However, after discovering that Peter’s beloved Pawtucket Patriot ale was in reality just an imitation of Homer’s traditional Duff, the pair become enemies. This escalated to a fistfight that took place across the town — similar to Peter’s reoccurring absurd brawls with the Giant Chicken from Family Guy.
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The fight sees both men throw down with all their might, exposing themselves to radioactive material and even gaining superpowers. In the end, the fight is settled with Peter victorious and Homer seemingly crushed underneath the weight of Kang and Kodos’ spaceship, but given their histories, it’s unlikely this would have been the final resolution of the fight.
Both Homer and Peter are comedy-centric animated characters, so any damage they’d take in a brawl is brief and inherently silly, but their fight highlights Peter’s fighting skills more consistently — likely in part because the episode was nominally an entry from Family Guy, not The Simpsons. In fact, Peter has survived plenty of ridiculous brawls, most notably with the Giant Chicken.
However, Homer has been shown to be capable of absorbing a frankly absurd amount of punishment, far beyond what Peter takes without the benefit of being in a cutaway gag outside of reality’s limits. At various points in the series, Homer has displayed an almost inhuman resistance to physical damage.
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His brain is protected by a layer of fluid, as revealed in Season 8’s “The Homer They Fall,” allowing Homer to easily weather the punches of anyone outside of World Champion Heavyweight boxers like Dedrick Tatum. He’s also been show taking cannonballs to the stomach in Season 7’s “Homerpalooza” with little visual effect. Plus, his brief stint as the superhero Pie-Man in Season 15’s “Simple Simpson” and as a bounty hunter in Season 20’s “Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes” showcased how agile Homer can be when motivated.
Homer’s also walked off what would have otherwise been fatal injuries, sliding down the side of buildings in Season 5’s “The Last Temptation of Homer.” Homer’s durability is absolutely absurd, and would likely allow him to survive whatever assault Peter or anyone else could deliver — even if it did ultimately contribute to his mental faculties waning.
While Peter has also been shown absorbing dangerous amounts of damage, Family Guy will frequently kill Peter only for the comic rule of the show to restore him the following scene. Homer’s survival is never in question, and his durability is simply an aspect of the character — making it unlikely he’d ever actually take enough damage from Peter to actually bring him down.
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