Isn't it terrible that Mr crabs has a rubbery carapace
Haha gotta love Eggman 
Indeed I've always wondered about the theme parks so it's nice to see his "reason" behind it! I've always had a sense that he truly enjoyed what he put his time and mind into.
A sad backstory is useful if you wish to make a villain who is, to some degree, understandable or even pitiable. Or if you wanted to make their eventual destruction necessary but somehow regrettable.
Not all villains necessarily have a backstory that makes people sympathize with them
Backstories explain how and why the villain becomes a villain in general. There are villains who seem unredeemable morally, and there are others who seem to be like Heinz Doofenshmirtz or Megamind (Megamind doesn't harm people unlike Hal/Titan).
I don´t imagine them as villain and hero, for me it´s just a question of perspective.
The antagonist could also be the protagonist when you tell the story out of their perspective
they don't HAVE to, it really depends on the tone/ genre of the story.
but even without a backstory, they need motivation even if it's just a simple "I like being evil!!
I'm kinda over the whole sympathetic villains because on how it's overdone. My favorite villain of all-time is Dr. Robotnick from the Sonic games.
He looks funny like an egg shaped but threatening as hell... he has a funny side but still have the balls to fight Sonic in almost every stages in the games. He doesn't simply wait at the end of the game... nah, bruh! Robotnick isn't that type of villain, he'll take you out himself if he has to and that to me is more admirable.
I love my villains to be bunch of assholes so that when the hero drives his/her fist in his/her face, you feel so damn satisfied and their defeat would be even more satisfying. The only reason I'd punch a sympathetic villain is how annoying he/she could get.
Shao Kahn from Mortal Kombat is an awesome villain and he backs it up. He insults you and still kicks your ass.
I don’t think a sad backstory is necessary unless you plan to redeem them later. And them going through the step of character development includes confronting their past.
Tho I don’t think that automatically makes them memorable. Most of the memorable villains tend to be ridiculous, campy, and sort of a diva.
I think the most interesting villains are ones who are just corrupted versions of the protagonist. Like Simba and Scar both wanted to be king. Both sing very superficial songs about it.
Technically, could a villain be an inanimate thing? Maybe the closest example is a rampant virus, or AI. Something like that. I mean, the Martian is literally an astronaut versus the conditions of mars, and those conditions really work against him.
Nah. They can just be like "Welp... I'm here. Imma do my thing". Depends on your angle of the story. Villains are just as flexible as the protagonist.
I said it before, but my favorite kinds of villains are just as vulnerable as the main character. Almost as if they could be a side character or part of the main character's crew due to the fact that they're part of the world they live in.
It boils down to preference.
Has anyone noticed an influx of "do you need ____ in your story?" Type questions? It feels a little redundant due to the fact a story doesn't need to be anything it only needs to be interesting enough for you to write it. You develop whichever character it'd be most interesting to develop.
Well, isn't that a good thing? It means that more new people are trying to create their own thing and want feedback, so new creators joining our ranks is a good thing. Especially if they are willing to ask questions.
yea I've definitely noticed, I think people just sometimes want a sense of direction
even if in this case there isn't really a direction to go other than wherever you want.
to be fair the stc cannon is self contained and thus unrelated to the mainline comics in the us or the games (plus archie's got like 3 or four continuities within itself and all because of the super genesis waves) so while it is absolutely a backstory for that eggman its not his cannon background
going even deeper even the tv shows have separate cannons within themselves especially underground and satam since it not only alters eggman's origin but his motivations. though iirc satam is closer to early archie but post penders went thru a bunch of changes where some details were closer to the show but neglected any character that had been adapted by penders if not made by him and then completely changed others (dulcy the dragon is a p good example of this when you look at her pre genisis wave vs post)
im really veering drastically off topic i think but thats kind of the general stuff i think 