The Ultimen were test tube babies, created in Cadmus laboratories by Emil Hamilton and possessed complete sets of false memories (most likely implanted there by Dr. Hugo Strange, the only member in Cadmus with such knowledge). When Wind Dragon began exhibiting unexpected changes in his powers, Cadmus discovered that the clones were unstable.
After discovering that they were part of an experiment to create superpowered clones with implanted memories, the Ultimen rebelled and went on a rampage against both Cadmus and the Justice League. They were reasoned with by members of the League and they stopped their rampage. Long Shadow, who refrained from participating in the destructive rampage, left with the Justice League while the remaining members were returned to Cadmus.
With that, the original Ultimen were out of the picture (final fates unknown). It was never revealed if the sentient Ultimen first encountered by the Justice League were able to be saved by Cadmus or the League, in the case of Long Shadow. But in the case where they did all die from massive cellular degradation (as presumed), the Ultimen died for nothing as caged lab rats in Cadmus captivity, while Long Shadow was given a hero's death, nobly giving his life for the honor and glory of the Justice League during his last moments.
Sometime later, Project Cadmus manufactured and
activated an army of at least twenty-six groups of Ultimen clones in order to support Galatea's assault on the Justice League Watchtower. While retaining the Ultimen's powers and expertise in using them, the clones were essentially mindless, possessing no free will so as to be used only as living metahuman weapons of destruction (which, ironically, was what the original Ultimen feared the government wanted them to be all along). The clones served to distract the League while Galatea went after the reactor. However, the assault failed as the League successfully defended their home in a massive battle.
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