on Writers Helping Writers:
It’s been said that every good story needs a villain. While that villain doesn’t have to be another character — it can be something more abstract, like a supernatural force or even fate itself — this “person-to-person” conflict is often what’s most compelling for readers.
But just because you’ve landed on this form of conflict for your story, doesn’t mean everything will naturally fall into place; far from it! An antagonist in this sense must be just as carefully developed as your protagonist, and it’s crucial to avoid the classic traps that people fall into when creating villains.
Here are five pitfalls to avoid when developing your antagonist, with illustrative examples to help you along the way.
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 
I agree … however, there’s always an, ‘however’. Two of the, argueably, greatest and most popular literature villians, fantasy villians, have been, and still are, Voldermort and Sauron. Neither of whom were given any sympathetic backstory at all. Sauron seemed to spring forth, fully formed, from Melkor’s brow, (I’d have to re-read The silmarillion to get the details 🙂 ) and Voldermort, even when we first meet him as a child had no redeeming characteristics what-so-ever.
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