The heroes get all the glory, but we still want the villains to win. Why?

Is it just me, or do the villains sometimes seem more interesting than the heroes? I often wonder why the villains never win, but then I remember that no one wants to read a book that isn’t justified. How could anyone ever enjoy a story about a bad guy that actually won? It just doesn’t make sense. Unfortunately.

I have a theory. In my opinion, villains tend to follow two generic paths. There is the typical wrongdoer, whose only purpose seems to be ruining the hero’s life. Then there’s the kind of villain who plans ahead. The mastermind of crime-the person that you either aspire to be or hide under your covers in fear of-villain. Yes, that kind of felon. And for some reason, we find this addicting. There’s no other way to describe it. The villain is brought up in the story, and suddenly you’re drinking in every detail in hopes of discovering the master plan. Or, simply because you want to learn from the master, and figure the master is the villain who eventually ends up dead, stripped of all power, locked in prison, or something of that sort. If that’s your plan I suggest you pick a new hobby, because you’re likely to end up in one of those categories.

Anyways, I believe we find the villains so interesting because they have one thing that seems hopelessly out of reach. Or from my perspective it does. Dun dun dun da! Drum roll please, and boom! Control. Call it what you will, freedom, liberty, yadda yadda, but to me, the villains always represent one symbol. They have control. Think about it. Do the villains always bend to the heroes whims and wishes? Do they listen and do what they’re told? Do the villains ask Santa Clause for world domination? No. To some degree, every villain breaks the rules. And because some of us find it impossible to live in such a way, we feed off the villain’s traits. If we can’t live like that, then we might as well enjoy the ride. After all, misery loves company. Or maybe I just mean those who can’t, read. Those who can, well, they usually end up as the villains.