Do the Villains really make the Hero?

To be quite honest, I had a hard time researching other sources for information about this blog because there is simply not a lot of material out their about the intricacies of villains and how they effect the heroes we know and love. I did however find a post on a website about the strongest super villans, and in the introduction it mentioned that super villans make the superhero. This post (http://whatculture.com/comics/10-most-powerful-super-villains-of-all-time.php) goes on to list powerhouse super villans along with a quick description of the villain, however in the description the author never goes in detail about how the villain is "making" the hero.

Is this true? We hear this a lot, that a hero is "made by the villain", but would it be that critical to a hero to have a different villain? For example would the Flash become a twisted dark rouge if he started to fight the Joker instead of Trickster, or would Batman become a beacon for hope and light if he faced off against Lex Luthor? The post says that the villain makes the hero, yet I disagree because the hero makes his own path and how they subsequently interact with the villains found on there path is what defines them. For example, Flash has chosen to be a witty, charming, defender of justice, and this causes him to react to his villains in a unique way. I can see how people might confuse this with the villain forcing the hero to act a certain way, but in reality it is the hero that puts the restrictions on themselves. To me this actually enhances the relationship between villans and heroes because it makes every encounter with every villan a unique experience.