Sheila and Herb Hollister once lived in Springdale and were friends of Justin Baldwin, Maddie Naylor and Alex Bow. At some point they left Springdale working as hitmen, while posing as a single person, the Harlequin Hit Man.
In the first appearance of this character, the Harlequin Hit Man was hired by Nathan Boder. The Hit Man followed a chain of blackmailers who would have been able to incriminate Boder. The Hit Man would force each one to give the name of someone else who knew something. In the meantime, as Herb and Sheila, they rekindled their friendships with Justin Baldwin and Maddie Naylor.
When Philip Barton gave the name of Emil Conroy and bother were killed a clerk at the County Courthouse who had evidence against Boder and had been working with Conroy was afraid he would be next. He set up a meeting with Justin Baldwin, planning to tell him everything. The Hit Man shows up at the meeting and knocks out Baldwin when he arrives. Speedball shows up in time to save is father, but the clerk is shot and killed. Speedball knocks out the Hit Man, only to be attacked by another. After they’re both out, Speedball leaves and Justin wakes up to unmask the Hit Men as his friends. Both are taken to jail, but they were successful in their job and nobody is left to incriminate their boss.Â
Creation
Harlequin Hitman was created by Roger Stern and Steve Ditko in 1989 and first appeared in Speedball # 7. Â
Story Arcs
In his/her second appearance, one of the duo was among many costumed criminals who were broken out of jail by Clyde. The Harlequin Hitman and many other criminals were employed by Clyde to find Dr. Benson’s cat Niels, which had powers similar to Speedball that Clyde intended to steal. The Harlequin Hitman actually made the capture by shooting it so that it would bounce and become stuck in the Sticker. When Speedball showed up, he made short work of the group and the Hit Man went back to jail with all the others.
Skills:
Both Herb and Sheila have shown skill with pistols.