If you’re reading this the day it went up then you should know April 25, 2025 as Skeleta day! This is the day that Ghost unleashed its latest album upon the masses and there’s a lot of hype surrounding this one. It’s arguably the band’s first release since it saw its popularity explode in recent years. Ghost is a hard band to wrap one’s head around. It’s this satanic, doomy, metal act that has also successfully blended pop elements with its music to create something that’s certainly catchy and unique, but also not typically what one would consider mainstream. For me personally, I’ve gone from seeing Ghost as the oddball band filling the opening slot on a show, to an Iron Maiden support act, to headlining its own tour in small arenas, to selling out large arenas and now playing in some of the largest venues we have. And fronting the band for much of this era has been Papa Emeritus IV.
Papa IV took over for Papa III and is the son of Papa Nihil who fronted the band back in the 70s when only three songs were produced: Kiss the Go-Goat, Mary on a Cross, and The Future is a Foreign Land. Like his predecessors, Papa IV tends to take the stage in a somewhat flamboyant suit his face a mask of black and white, but when the situation calls for it he’s known for dawning wings or his full vestments as the leader of the clergy. Super7 has produced figures of the three Papas to come before him (they have not done Papa Nihil) so it was hardly a surprise when this figure went up for preorder last year. I have all of the predecessors, but I only reviewed the first one as they’re fairly similar. This one is perhaps the most different one yet though so I figured, why not? Plus it’s certainly topical.
Papa IV comes in the standard Ultimates! box, though now without a slipcover (because those surely add considerable cost…). He’s clad in his black suit and shiny blue coat. The figure is, as expected, a mixture of old and new parts. This costume required a bit more new this time around due to the cuffs on the sleeves a different style shirt, and the pattern on the pants. I’m guessing that Super7 got to reuse the lower torso, upper arms, calves, hands, and feet. If you’re worried about Super7’s bottom line then maybe it will comfort you to know they saved a little with some repeat accessories.
The most obvious new piece of sculpt work is the head. This Papa has slicked back gray hair and his own distinct pattern of black and white on his face. Super7’s attempt to capture the likeness is satisfactory. I don’t think they nailed it as well as they did with Papa III, but it looks okay. I think it’s just a little narrow in the face and the hair isn’t particularly convincing. The forehead on mine is also a little scratched and I don’t know if that’s intentional or not. I don’t know why it would be. I should also mention he stands at roughly 6.75″ putting him in-line with the other Papa figures.
If you want this figure to looks its best, you will want to take advantage of the optional vestments. For this iteration, Super7 did it in two layers. There’s basically a poncho that goes over the head (or neck, since you’ll have to take the head off) and then a cape that goes around that and it’s fixed with a Velcro clasp. It’s very colorful, and the portrait that goes with this look is a little cleaner looking and seems to work better for me with the pope hat. Unfortunately, this two garment approach makes the look more cumbersome. The material bunches up around the neck making Papa look like he’s wearing a scarf. It’s also quite restricting when it comes to the arms. Both garments are wired so you can do some posing, even if they just typically hang there when he wears this outfit. Also, take care when swapping heads. On mine, the neck piece has a tendency to want to pop off with the head which can be quite annoying.
Papa IV comes with a bunch of hands. He has five sets total plus an extra right hand in a “Hang Loose” gesture. The other sets are basically for his different costumes. For the standard look, we have black hands which come with sets of gripping, open, and fists. The other hands are black with bronze bones painted over the digits. For those, we get a set of gripping hands and relaxed hands plus the lone hang loose hand. The only other accessories are the microphone and stand which has come with all of the Papa Ultimates! releases.
Articulation for this figure is the same as the rest as well. Double-ball at the head, single ball at the neck, single hinged elbows and knees, standard shoulders and wrists with an ab crunch. The ankles hinge and rock. It’s all decent, but unspectacular. He can hit basic poses, and with all of the vestments on he can basically do nothing but stand there, but the more nuanced mannerisms you may be accustomed to seeing from the stage are a bit out of reach.
And that’s Papa IV. A figure I want to like a lot, but it just has too many problems holding it back. The soft goods not fitting very well is a real bummer because, off of the figure, they look really nice. I was pleased to see the two piece approach. If you compare it to the render Super7 used to sell the figure it’s almost laughable, if not down right deceitful. The base figure underneath is at least decent. Not great, but it’s unmistakably Papa Emeritus IV. It would have been interesting if they could have done the cuffs on the sleeves with soft goods, though I doubt they could have gotten them to hang realistically. That’s the issue with soft goods at this scale” they lack the weight needed to look like the real deal.
Nonetheless, I’m guessing this isn’t last we’ll see of this mold. Papa Emeritus IV wore these vestments mostly just in music videos. On tour, he wore something different. There’s also his previous look as Cardinal Copia which Super7 passed over. This could be easily repurposed into a figure of the cardinal, either as an Ultimate or maybe a Deluxe release (which Papa II has been re-released as and is the version I have). If that does happen I can’t say I’d be interested in buying this one again. Now, if they do a Papa V Perpetua (spoiler: he went up for preorder today) then that will get my attention as I like the new look. Hopefully Super7 can do it justice because this one is pretty lacking.
I may have only reviewed one figure from the band Ghost, but I do have other ghostly reviews you can check out:
Super7 Ultimates! Ghost – Papa Emeritus I
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Figura Obscura – The Ghost of Christmas Past
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DC Collectibles BTAS #42 – Gray Ghost
I have long maintained that the best episode of the now classic Batman: The Animated Series is the Mr. Freeze story, “Heart of Ice.” It is not, however, my favorite episode of the show as that honor belongs to “Beware the Gray Ghost.” That episode introduced the character Gray Ghost, a superhero from television who…
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