I think a large part of the "C is Efficient" fallacy/truth is that C is more predictable with its assembly output than HLLs. Since ultimately all programs are

I think a large part of the "C is Efficient" fallacy/truth is that C is more predictable with its assembly output than HLLs. Since ultimately all programs are converted to machine instructions at some point, you will always be able to write machine instructions that are at least as efficient. The test lies in the ability of the programmer to do so.