Spoilers for Savage Avengers ahead!
The recent redesign of Miles Morales by Marvel is presenting some of the same aspects that DC Comics' Cyborg is frequently criticized for. Savage Avengers #3 and #4 has revealed that the former identity of the miniseries' iteration of Deathlok is Miles Morales. His body is twice doubly altered and he could very quickly fall into being a horrific stereotype depending on how Marvel chooses to handle this particular variation of the fan-favorite hero turned bad.
Savage Avengers sees a group of Marvel heroes thrown into the world of Conan the Barbarian as Deathlock attempts to eliminate him for crimes against time. The series has the creative team of David Pepose, Carlos Magno, Espen Grundetjern, and Tranis Lanham. At the third issue's end, Deathlok is revealed to be a cybernetic Miles Morales who has returned from the dead. The fourth issue presented some of the backstory for his death, showing him being a hero who learned important lessons from his mentor. However, this also means that - like Cyborg - Miles is yet another Black hero who has been doubly "othered."
Over the years, Cyborg has been criticized for following the trope of stripping a young Black hero of his humanity and bodily autonomy. Additionally, DC has not always shown respectful handling of the hero in past attempts to redesign him in stereotypically negative ways. Despite this criticism Marvel has decided to do the same to Miles, while also sticking him into a comic with the title "Savage Avengers", which in and of itself may pose several problems. However, he is not currently a part of the team officially. He is a foe they face as he appears to now be struggling to regain memories of his past life - which means the term "Savage" has not been applied to him. The series still has a few issues remaining and Marvel could easily divert from DC's mistakes and salvage what could very quickly become a tone-deaf portrayal of the hero - not unlike the issues presented by the hero's recent Thor variant from earlier this year.
Victor Stone has always predominantly been Cyborg; the mantle hasn't really been shared or passed down. His identity is irrevocably tied to being half-man and half-machine. Contrarily, Miles Morales has a very different life from his Deathlok variant within Marvel's canonical universe. Additionally, Deathlok has had numerous identities that run across many characters, both white and Black, as well as having male and female iterations. While Luther Manning may be the original, the mantle has also been held by Michael Collins, Henry Hayes, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jemma Simmons within comics, as well as Mike Peterson in the television series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. When Michael Collins, a Black man, bore the codename, his story was written by comic legend Dwayne McDuffie, known for his groundbreaking work with Milestone Comics. This allowed authenticity and care to be taken with the character's representation despite the issues that naturally arise with Black heroes being "othered."
Should Marvel close out this series without addressing Miles' "othering," this will be yet another problematic variant of the hero that embodies all of Cyborg's worst design aspects. However, considering the former Spider-Man's tendency to rise above challenges he faces, his humanity could still be restored in some form, allowing this to just be one of many variants in the multiverse. Miles Morales deserves to continue his legacy as Spider-Man within Marvel Comics' Earth-616 universe and should leave DC's Cyborg elements - and other racial stereotypes seen in comics - behind him when the Savage Avengers' adventures conclude.