Comma usage near end of sentence

Disclaimer

To some extent punctuation is a matter of fashion or style. Although there are cases where most educated people agree that the punctuation is wrong, there are others where it is a matter of taste. Although my approach is to assess what punctuation bests aids the comprehension of the sentence in reading silently or aloud, I am biased by my education and experience.

My Opinion

I find 2 much preferable. This is because of the function of the word or in the sentence, which is to link two alternative ideas — the past (has) and the future (will). In speaking the sentence I would say “ever has or ever will” without pausing. A comma would instruct me to pause for no apparent reason (unless I was an orator, pausing for effect, in which case I would probably use an em dash).

The original sentence you refer to with “or ever will” within commas is not a model for the second as the commas in the original sentence indicate (to me) that the future possibility is an aside. You could quite validly leave out the first comma there if this was not the intent. (The second comma remains because it separates the first idea from the second.)

Postscript

Having made my argument I would point out its implication. The most appropriate (I don’t say correct) use of commas here depends on the meaning you wish to convey. “ever will” an aside or afterthought or does it have the same weight as “ever will”?