Breaking Bad
Throughout theentirety ofBreaking Bad , two grapheme stand out as worthy of the " kingpin " title because of how reasoning and calculating they are . That would be Walter White himself and Gustavo " Gus " Fring . Both are villains and deadly enemy due to how challenging and cautions they can be in the drug trade .
For some , Gus might even be a better and colder version of Walter but the fact that the latter defeated him puts this evaluation under scrutiny . That ’s why we ’re here . Because there can only be one iconic drug kingpin in theBreaking Badfranchise . Is Walter smarter than Gus or is it the other way around ?
GUS FRING: He’s A Self-Made Millionaire/Billionaire
Gus was no doubt in the millionaire range at the peak of his process back inBreaking BadandBetter Call Saul . Heck , with all the plus combined– include the riotous - nutrient chain , Madrigal , and other enterprises , he could probably pass off as a billionaire .
The fact that Gus was capable to make it this big and even sustain it without turning any heads . He was able to do it for years with the Juarez Cartel leeching off his back for the majority of it . It makes Walter ’s $ 80 - 100 million after a year ’s labor pale in compare to what Gus has achieve in the few years working with Gale Boetticher .
WALTER WHITE: He’s An Actual Scientist
While Gus might have been a better businessman than Walter , the latter was consider a rockstar in his own battlefield and is mostly acknowledge as a genius in chemistry . In fact , Breaking Badimplied that Walter ’s smart could have netted him a Nobel Prize .
If only he had cling with his strengths and did n’t lease his pridefulness eat through him , he would have own Gray Matter Technologies and might even be vie with Gus for last Charles Frederick Worth . Walter really could have made something expectant for the world using his intellect if only he wanted . Even those who do n’t know him too well involve him as a genius after learn just a bit of his work .
GUS FRING: He Built A Massive Drug Network
Walter might have created the purest deoxyephedrine on Earth but his best creation in the show end there . It ’s not really that telling in hindsight , considering it ’s just druggie chow . Gus ’s portfolio of wonders , on the other hand , is more salient . His accolades sweep multiple stage business and industries .
These include an hugger-mugger meth lab , a laundromat , a fowl farm , a degraded - intellectual nourishment chain , an abroad electromotive company in Germany , a private special K , etc . The gentleman could have made his own private army if he wanted . All of those only serve as a front to his drug business . At best , Gus ' drug empire ’s earnings dribble down economically and even make " jobs " for mass . No doubt he ’s made a bigger encroachment to the humankind than Walter .
WALTER WHITE: His Quick Wit
Whereas Gus ' genius is mostly seen in his foresighted - term strategy , Walter ’s is a healthy combination of tactical and strategic . Walter knowshow to play the tenacious game and also know when to cerebrate ofout - of - the - loge solutionsfor unforeseen consequences .
Even when caught with his pant down ( literally and figuratively ) , he always get up with something . The best example of this was when Hank almost caught bothhim and Jessered - handed in the RV . Walt ’s speedy mentation saved them both . Sadly , it ’s inconceivable to liken how Gus would have oppose in a similar situation because he likely would never happen himself in such a problem because …
GUS FRING: He’s The Most Cautious Man Alive
No other personinBreaking Badis more calculating and more careful than Gus . In fact , his closest equivalent aside from Walter would be Charles ' Chuck ' McGill fromBetter Call Saulwhen it comes to consistent behaviour . Gus is simply too cautious for his enemies that even the tearing Juarez Cartel could n’t meet him .
Additionally , hisjudge of characteris near - faultless – even when he sting the bullet by working with Walter , he still control a backup because he knows just how ambitious and mentally ill Walt was . One could even inquire just how exactly is Gus capable to kip with how much paranoia and shrewdness he has that even his most trust employees are under surveillance .
WALTER WHITE: He’s Better At Improvising
In addition to wiggling out of a really bad spot or even a death sentence , Walter also has a talent for exploit into his genius on demand . He just knows the correct matter to do in a sudden unfavourable situation . There was that time where both he and Jesse got ground in the heart of the desert and Walter create a barrage from clams .
When push button came to shove , Walt also saved Jesse ’s life sentence using nothing but his 2004 Pontiac Aztek … with a little help from Newtonian physics , of course . Who could also forget that Mercury Fulminate that pull off to bring Tuco Salamanca to heel ?
GUS FRING: He Never Gets Angry
Here ’s one of the enceinte differences between the two bald-headed druglords ofBreaking Bad . Gus is simply more ripe than Walter and manage emotions better . He never loses calm ( even in death ) and never slash out . Even slitting his own employee ’s pharynx was a calculated move ( Victor was essentially spotted at the crime shot ) and fire no visible response from him .
Gus is too collected and rational that he makes the middle - aged Walter look like a teenage punk . It ’s worth noting that Walter ’s outbursts and impulsiveness have resulted in disadvantage and disconfirming outcomes such as getting beaten up by Jesse and even Mike Ehrmantraut ’s dying .
WALTER WHITE: He Doesn’t Need Henchmen
Since he does seem more tactically resourceful than Gus , Walter also tends to leave the important chore for himself . He shoulder anything from confront Tuco to even scaring some potential challenger in his dominion .
As it stands , Walter would seem more main than Gus , cancer and all . He even took out all of Jack Welker ’s gang just by himself with nothing but his smarts and a Hun - rigged machine gun . Gus , menacing as he is , seems to prefer to not get his workforce dirty and let all his underlings do all the manual labor .
GUS FRING: He Wiped Out The Juarez Cartel
On top of work up his own drug manufacturing and distribution imperium as well as make his own business ecosystem , Gus also withdraw out what come along to be the most dominant drug cartel in Mexico : the Juarez Cartel . This was his real destination , with his drug empire that all but occult the cartel merely being the icing on the cake .
Not even Walter could have pull in off such a dangerous task let alone live . The most menacing gang he could take out was Welker ’s Neo - Nazi grouping and even he pay for it with his life . Those guy are nipper equate to the might of the Juarez Cartel .
WALTER WHITE: He Killed Gus
Still , one can not forget Walter ’s highlighting inBreaking Bad : killing Gus . This was Walt at the top of his game . Technically , it was Hector Salamanca who pulled the trigger but the plan was Walter ’s so he have the reference .
Walter accept down the guy wire who have down bigger fish than either of them in what look like a rock - report - scissors game . Regardless , it ’s a testament to how dangerously well-informed Walter can be and how even Gus ca n’t anticipate some of his moves .
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