Ghost Rider is a Comics character created by Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich, whose first appearance dates back to 1972. This anomalous figure of the Marvel Universe is certainly not among my own favorite heroes and, fact, I never read his histories on Comic books, except for some sporadic occasions. Nonetheless, when I saw the first photos of this XM Studios statue, I was literally struck and immediately looked for a way to put it in my collection (not an easy task, being an "exclusive" version, only available directly from XM). Well... When, after a long time, I finally had it in my hands and I was able to see the piece live, I've to admit that I had even undervalued the aesthetic and visual impact of the piece and I believe only one adjective can describe it in the appropriate way: IMPRESSIVE! The statue was sculpted by Adam Ross and released in 2016, with an edition size of 999 samples. The dimensions of the piece are really out of ordinary: the size is 86 x 38 cm, with a height of 52 cm and a weight of approximately 24 Kg! Rather unusually for XM pieces, it does not provide any add-on (except for an art print by Studio Hive) and this lack somehow demonstrates on its own the undisputable peculiarity and distinctiveness of the statue. The character is depicted in one of his most iconic pose, riding on his rimbling motorcycle and surrounded by hell's flames! The body shows a dynamic pose: the left hand holds the handlebar of the bike, the trunk is fully rotated and the right arm elongated backwards, with the hand holding the typical long chain, used by the hero as a letal weapon. Ghost wears a full black leather suit, embellished with pointed tips on shoulders, wrists and calfs; both the long boots and gloves are equipped with large leather strips, tightened by metallic buckles, while the jacket and two lateral pockets are closed on chest by zippers and a fine belt ia placed at waistline. The details of the suit are astonishing! The leather looks smoother on pants and rougher on jacket, where the top part shows vertical strips on both front and back; a lot of folds characterize the jacket (especially on arms) and the pants, as to follow the rotation of the bust, thus providing the whole figure with an incredible realism. The bike of the hero represents a masterpiece on its own. The surface of the elongated egg-shaped thank is embellished with curved strips carved in relief, which also appear on the rear wheel fender and emphasize the small licence plate, showing the number of the statue. A lot of engine details are visible under the tank, sculpted and colored in a masterful way, with a dominant tubolar structure connecting the rear wheel with the handlebars and ending, at one side, with two attractive exhaust pipes. Also the foot supports and handlebar controls are very realistic, while the frontal part is embellished with the skull of a ram and the two wheels are constituted by flowing and twirling flames. The base is heavy, circular in shape and shows some burned skulls and many flames rising up, which have to be mounted through a suitable sequence (by following the included instructions) and perfectly match with the two wheels. In spite of the will of many collectors, the flame are opaque, since the use of a transparent (and less robust) resin would have probably compromised the load-bearing role of the rear wheel. In my humble opinion, this choice is, in any case, the most appropriate one, not only for structural reasons, but also for the aesthetics of the whole figure: the transparent flames, in fact, would have been too flashy, while the matte resin gives a very realistic representation of flames, through the perfect mixture of yellow, orange and red colors, here shaded in a masterful way. The face of Ghost Rider is very well sculpted and colored with a great care: the hollowed traits of the skull, the open wide mouth and the flowing flame starting from neck and embedding the whole face, depict the true essence of the character and are very faithful to the original tables of Comics. The only weak point of this statue, if any, is probably the size and the remarkable weight, which require an anomalous and appropriate space for display. The impact and the majesty of this piece are really unique and uncomparable with any other statue available on market: a true piece of furniture, which certainly deserves a place of honour in any Marvel collection.