WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Legion of Super-Heroes #3 by Brian Michael Bendis, Ryan Sook, Travis Moore, Wade Von Grawbadger, Jordie Bellaire, and ALW's Troy Peteri, on sale now.
The future of DC Universe has long been in-flux, shifting with new directions in response to surprising events. Sometimes events are set in stone, while some people have the chance to change their fate. Since the arrival of Jon Kent in the far future, however, there have been more and more hints about the eventual direction of the DC Universe.
At least one hero - Damian Wayne's Robin - has struggled against his potential destiny for years, by fighting to become a hero instead of the villain his mother intended him to be. But If the predictions from Legion of Superheroes #3 turn out to be true, then Robin might be in for a major turn to the dark side.
THE WORST ROBIN
When Jon first brings him to the future, Damian Wayne is quickly overwhelmed, but he adjusts relatively quickly. He even helps Superboy bring down one of the Legion's newest enemies with ease. However, the collective Legion is horrified by Damian's presence. Saturn Girl quickly puts him to sleep and erases his memory of the entire trip, before returning him to his proper place in the past. It's notable that Saturn Girl notes that Damian will become something that seems to put horror into her eyes. Meanwhile, the rest of the Legion are shown to have different opinions about Damian. Dawnstar suggests that seeing Damian was so ridiculous, she assumed it was a joke by Chameleon Boy.
Chameleon Boy says that not even he would do that kind of joke, even comparing the idea of posing as Damian to a baby Adolf Hitler. However, Brainiac 5, who has some experience confronting the legacy of that comes with a haunted name, argues that Damian was a far more complex person than the others are giving him credit for. All of this suggests Damian has become a highly controversial figure in the future of the DC Universe. But what kind of fate could Damian Wayne have that would be so bad?
WHAT HAPPENS TO DAMIAN WAYNE
Damian's future has been hinted at in other comics, and most of his futures involve him taking on the mantle of Batman from his father at some point. But he's still also the son of Talia Al Ghul and the grandson of Ra's, and he occasionally lives up to his villainous heritage too. A few versions of the young Wayne's future have seen Damian remain a largely heroic Batman, including one version of the Batman Beyond mythos where Damian even replaces Bruce as the older former hero who serves as the mentor for the next generation of the Batman identity, Terry McGinnes.
However, other versions of Damian who grew up to become Batman had to deal with darker paths. In one possible future, Damian eventually succeeded his father as Batman following his death in the line of duty. Although he was dedicated to the protection of Gotham City, the world became increasingly darker. After coming to the conclusion that he'd never be as good of a Batman as Bruce Wayne or Dick Grayson, Damian instead focused on turning Gotham itself into his weapon, leaving traps everywhere. He went so far as to sell his soul to a devil to better protect the city (something that's been quietly hinted at happening to the core Damian during the events of City of Bane). In the end, however, Gotham was still destroyed when it was nuked in an attempt to contain an out of control Joker Virus.
In other versions of the future, Damian has been even more overtly antagonistic. One version appeared during the events of DC: Metal - a Damian from the Dark Multiverse that the Prime Batman encountered in Batman: Lost. This Damian led a team of murderous survivors through a wasteland and even shot his father down for being part of the world's end. The Damian Wayne from Injustice: Gods Among Us joined Superman during the civil war between the heroes after accidentally killing Nightwing in battle. In the potential future of "Titans Tomorrow," Damian became a destructive and uncontrollable Batman, eventually going to war against other former disciples of Bruce Wayne like Tim Drake. In the "Future's End" timeline, he even turned his back on his heroic lineage and instead even succeeded his grandfather Ra's Al Ghul, taking over as the leader of the League of Assassins.
There could still be some unheard-of change to Damian that hasn't happened yet that could even push him further down the dark path that we don't know about. But clearly, Damian will do something that will immortalize him within the DC Universe - the entire galaxy apparently knows his name even a thousand years later - that's not necessarily a good thing. It would fit with many of his possible fates that DC has introduced over the years though if Damian went on to do something terrible.
It's also worth noting that when Brainiac-5 talks about Damian, he hints at some plan the Legion is working on. Brainiac-5 even mentions that the Legion is seemingly trying to avoid an outcome that includes a darker Damian in the timeline. Coupled with the Legion apparently needing Jon Kent to make some unknown change to the past, it appears that the Legion believes there may be a way for the past to be altered before Damian is doomed for eternity.