Religion: indeterminate
Name: Professor Ralph Vern
Other Names: Prof. Ralph Vern; Mr. X; the high lama
Classification: supporting character villain scientist
First Appearance: Batman (vol. 1) #164 (June 1964): "Batman's Great Face-Saving Feat!"
Creators: Ed Herron, Sheldon Moldoff, Joe Giella
Number of Appearances: 1
Teams/Affiliations: The Mystery Analysts of Gotham City
Occupation: scientist
Worked for: State University
Gender: male
Note: his laboratory work led to arrests of many criminals
Panel 4 on page 1 in "How to Solve the Perfect Crime - in Reverse!" in Batman #168 (Dec. 1964) describes Prof. Ven: "Serious-thinking Prof. Ralph Vern, of State University, whose hobby is tinkering in a lab -- to catch crooks!"
In this story, Professor Vern masquerades as a Tibetan Buddhist high lama in order to access a Tibetan lamasary and forge a copy of a rare gem from the region.
Suggested links for further research about this character:
- http://comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=16364
- https://www.comics.org/issue/18414/
- http://comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=106947