Ha, good call. IMO C, C++, and JavaScript are all kind of in that special case basket where there were significant domains in which you had to use them (JS for the browser, C for unistd.h, C++ for the Win32 API), so they didn't really have to compete with anything for long enough to become entrenched.

Zig, though, does very clearly lay out its pitch right on the homepage, and although it's maybe not a table of checkmarks, it's a series of pretty clear shots-across-the-bow at other languages, in particular C and C++.

Rust similarly has a "Why Rust" block above the fold on its homepage; it's not quite as terse as the Zig one, but it's clearly that same executive-level pitch.

Hare's homepage has: "Hare is a systems programming language designed to be simple, stable, and robust. Hare uses a static type system, manual memory management, and a minimal runtime. It is well-suited to writing operating systems, system tools, compilers, networking software, and other low-level, high performance tasks."

Maybe there's a case to be made here that these bald assertions are no different than what Zig and Rust claim about themselves. But I also think it's reasonable to have different expectations around this for a brand new project vs ones with years of track record and existing mindshare.