Hannibal Lecter. The Joker. Darth Vader. High fructose corn syrup. There's something about bad guys we love to hate - or maybe just love to love. Ever since there've been stories, there've been bad guys stealing the show from heroes. But why are the Lex Luthors of the world so much more fun than the Supermen?

Each week we publish letters sent to us regarding previous issues. If you'd like to comment on an article, send your letter to editor@escapistmag.com.

"Plato and Aristotle didn't distinguish between "laughing with" and "laughing at." They considered all humor to be rooted in schadenfreude, aggression and contempt. Two thousand years later, when Thomas Hobbes described the natural human condition as "nasty, brutish and short," he saw humor as part of the problem, not the solution."

Laura Capello Bromling explains why there's no humor in Heaven.

"Pyramid Head reminds James of his guilt, his sexual frustration during Mary's illness and his desire to be punished for what he did. Ultimately, James accepts all of this, wanting to be rid of the delusion. "I needed you to punish me for my sins," he admits near the end."

Christina Gonzalez examines the psychological impact of a man with a knife wearing a pyramid on his head.

"Still, bringing morality into the gameplay isn't easy. In The Punisher, the point penalty seems unintentional - it has a very small effect on the game system. Still, the choice is there, and it's in that space that the system works. The developers aren't strong-arming the player into acting in a specific way. They're simply offering a choice."

Alex Karls examines the Good, The Bad and the Sadistic.

"But where the old games blamed bad guys - sorry, antagonists - and whined that everything was about to end, the new versions (particularly Werewolf) take a more constructive view: "Our forerunners messed up, so we must fix it."

Allen Varney braves the World of New Darkness.

"Placed in a position designed to fail, the outcome of the disastrous PlayStation 3 launch begins to seem more understandable, as does Ken's sad decline into confusion and contradiction. His fall from grace, both within and without of Sony, is the result of an unswerving devotion to an ultimately false idol."

Spanner tells the tales of three men gamers love to hate: Bill Gates, Jack Tramiel and Ken Kutaragi.