Setting up your heroes to win
Only after a decent fight
With a villain who’s not just might.
No cariactures then! The most interesting villains are those with depth to them, where you can see why they’re acting the way they are without agreeing with them of course (unless you prefer villains to heroes!).
Heroes also need to be realistic - no supermen/women, you want to see their flaws and virtues. I’ve sometimes found heroes aggravating for being too perfect, which is exactly what you want to avoid.
And what they fight about has got to be worth fighting over. Something that’s going to hurt someone badly if they lose...