Different strokes for different folks! I should clarify and say I don't mind villains having a tragic backstory that explains how it all came to be, but I do tend to dislike when we're given a tragic backstory in which the tragedy is a blatant ploy to get us to love/want to comfort the villain/make him or her more cuddly. I don't want cuddly villains! I want villains who are evil, whether by nature or by circumstance, who I can simultaneously abhor for their actions and yet empathize with for their recognizably human characteristics.

Granted, none of my preferences are absolutes, and there are exceptions to every rule, but generally, that is what I prefer.

You should definitely read Soon I Will Be Invincible (http://www.amazon.com/Soon-Invincible-Vintage-Austin-Grossman/dp/0307279863/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273133223&sr=8-1). I think you'd enjoy it a lot.