The following contains spoilers for Dark Crisis: The Dark Army #1, now on sale from DC Comics.
The DC Universe is built upon a deep history of legacy, with younger people often carrying on the inspiration laid before them by previous generations of heroes. While it's usually in a heroic fashion (such as Jon Kent taking up the role of Superman in his father's absence), it can sometimes come with a tragic edge -- particularly in the case of one member of the Bat-Family.
Damian Wayne's encounter with Doctor Multiverse in Dark Crisis: The Dark Army #1 (by Mark Waid, Delilah S. Dawson, Dennis Culver, Freddie E. Williams II, Jack Herbert, Adriano Lucas, and Troy Peteri) suggests he's always fated to become his Batman 666 counterpart. This could spell doom for Damian, given the fate of his anti-hero variant and recent events in Batman vs. Robin.
Damian Wayne's Fate as Batman 666 Seems to be Sealed
Damian Wayne has been in an interesting place over the last few years. He left the Teen Titans and refused to work with Batman which led directly to a great deal of heroic growth in the pages of Robin and the ensuing "Shadow War" crossover. Now, during the height of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, Damian has proven uniquely positioned to do a lot of good. He spends Dark Crisis: The Dark Army hopping across the multiverse alongside a small team of other heroes, seeking to find the means to break the chains currently controlling countless villains and forcing them into the Dark Army.
The mission ultimately takes them to the multiversal House of Heroes, where they discover the corrupted Justice Incarnate trying to infect the entire multiverse. But thanks to some quick thinking -- and a major power boost for Dr. Light -- the heroes save the day and find a way to break the chains. As the group prepares to venture back to the core-DC Universe, Doctor Multiverse helps them find their way back -- and in the process sees glimpses of their different variants. While the other heroes present have a lot of different possible paths, she takes note that across the multiverse, Damian Wayne seems consistently fated to eventually don his Batman 666 costume -- something Doctor Multiverse describes as a rarity.
What This Means For Damian Wayne - And the DC Universe
This revelation comes with a lot of weight given Damian's history and the legacy of Batman 666 in past storylines. Introduced in Batman #666 (by Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert, Jesse Delperdang, Guy Major, and Jared K. Fletcher), he is a version of Damian who eventually took over the mantle of Batman from his father after his demise. However, he eventually saw his entire world destroyed in a massive war -- giving any future where Damian became the Dark Knight an inherently dangerous edge. It's even come to pass in the core-DC Universe, with Batman vs. Robin seeing a demonically controlled Damian donning the variation of the costume to battle his father.
There are a couple of ways to read Doctor Multivere's revelations, none of which are necessarily positive for Batman's son. The most optimistic interpretation suggests that across the multiverse, Damian eventually is fated to become Batman in his father's stead, ensuring the legacy of the Caped Crusader even after Bruce Wayne's inevitable death. But it could also suggest that any timeline with Damian is doomed to the same destruction and devastation encountered by Batman 666, on top of losing Bruce Wayne to his war on crime. It could even be a tease that all Damians end their stories by becoming Batman, hinting that Batman vs. Robin could result in a tragic ending for Damian. Robin being fated to take over the mantle of Batman might seem on paper to be a positive development, suggesting Damian is less likely to return to his mother's more villainous teachings. But it could also hint that his fate is tied to his tenure as Batman -- and could easily end with it as well.