Combine a jet pack, a hand-glider, and a little bit of comic book creativity, and you should have a pretty good picture of the contraption that adventuresome daredevil Yves Rossy piloted around Mount Fuji at the end of October. According to a Telegraph report, Rossy recently completed nine death-defying flights around the Japanese volcano, reaching speeds of 190 miles per hour and altitudes as high as 12,000 feet. Rossy also notched an impressive distance of 9.3 miles in his longest flight.

So how does Rossy do it, and why as the extreme sports obsessive been dubbed the “Jetman” by publications all over the world? While a great deal of each high-flying feat is undoubtedly defined by Rossy’s own fearless instinct, much credit must also be given to his jet suit, a four engine jetpack contraption fashioned to a pair of carbon-Kevlar wings and controlled by a handheld throttle device. Indeed, the suit turns Rossy into a veritable superhero, Batman and Iron Man rolled into one.

Rossy’s flights around Mount Fuji were reportedly made to celebrate the landmark’s new designation as a “world heritage” site. While while Rossy was complimentary of Fuji’s volcanic scenery, he’s used even more spectacular landmarks to stage his stunt performances in the past.

A visit to Rossy’s official website reveals an impressive trophy case of achievements. In 2009, the jetman completed a flight across the English Channel, and the year before that, he rocketed himself gracefully over the Swiss Alps.

Perhaps most spectacular was Rossy’s May 2011 flight above the Grand Canyon. With a little bit of understanding and assistance from the United States Federal Aviation Administration – which classified his Jetsuit as an actual aircraft rather than as a hand-glider, Rossy was able to skip past a few of the normal flight regulations in the area and soar over the canyon.

Despite all of his dangerous stunts, Rossy isn’t exactly the standard issue thrill-seeker. For one thing, he’s not young (he’s 54 years old) and for another, his stunts seem as much about perfecting the technology of the Jetsuit as they do about getting the adrenaline pumping. If perfected, Rossy’s suit could be of interest to everyone from skydiving companies to the United States military. However, there is no indication as of yet that Rossy feels like sharing.

Whatever is next for Rossy remains to be seen, but upon completing his Mount Fuji run, the Jetman encouraged all of his followers to “hold on to their dreams” and aim for the impossible.