we see from Stanley's perspective that he thinks of himself as the "bad twin." so a lot of the fandom assumes that everyone in Stan and Ford's lives treated them like the "bad twin" and the "good twin" when they were younger. that that's just how things were. but I'm not so sure that's actually the case.
because when they were kids, Stan was also the stronger one. yes, Ford was also put in boxing with him, but Stan is the one who actually puts those lessons to use more often. I think it's just as possible that Ford saw himself and Stan as "the strong twin" and "the weak twin," and I think that double, opposite designation of a "better" twin is a) way more interesting and b) much more in line with the show than automatically making Ford the golden/favored child.
there's a few other analyses that I'm gonna link back to in this if I can find them later, but they're excellent takes on two things: Ford's complex around his own physical strength and his focus on developing it throughout his life, and Filbrick's lack of acknowledgement of Ford's intelligence for what it is until it was possible for that intelligence to make him money. (one thing I haven't seen mentioned a lot when it comes to Ford, Stan, and physical strength is their primary choice of weapons: Stan uses things that require strength of the user, such as bats, brass knuckles, and fists. Ford's weapons of choice are always guns of some sort, which require good aim, but not much in the way of inherent physical strength, unless it's like a massive unwieldy sci-fi space gun, and I think that says something about how they view their own strengths and weaknesses maybe.) I might also try to find that analysis on Ford being just as much of a menace as Stan.
anyway what I'm trying to get at here is that the "good twin, bad twin" angle isn't entirely accurate. it's the one that Stan ascribes to himself and his brother in the climax of the show, so it makes sense that's the one that sticks with fans. but the whole point of their childhood is that they only really had each other, because everyone else looked down on them. they weren't "the dumb twin and the smart twin", or "the behaved twin and the misbehaving twin", or "the strong twin and the weak twin," or "the freak twin and the not-a-genetic-freak twin."
they were "the weak twin and the stupid twin." "the freak twin and the misbehaving twin."
there's a reason Crampelter's taunts are highlighted in ATOTS. "hey, look, it's the loser twins." "you're a six-fingered freak, and you're just a dumber, sweatier version of him." they were both looked down on by others, in different ways.
but working on the Stan-O-War, things were different. "good thing you've got your smarts, Poindexter. I've got the other thing. what is it called? oh, right, punching!"
when it was just the two of them, they could be the smart twin and the strong twin. they each took the traits they were better at—the traits they were at least not bullied for, if not praised for—and each formed their sense of self around it. they saw themselves as two halves of a whole, each with one good quality that they could use to work together.
(@canadianno essay one have fun)
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