I was reluctant to use my charizard over arcanine for a long time, but I've been really enjoying him against grass types (grass moves double weak aginst). And wing attack is a fun move (a lot like frost breath on dewgong, and still bonus damage to grass).
He definitely won't be a waste if you decide to power the charizard first.
Power up this Charizard?
I barely find any charmander where I live, for instance, I have seen 75 bulbasaur, 36 squirtle and 10 charmander, so I don't really have a lot of candy to spare to evolve a better IV one, so do you think this is worth powering up with the charmander candy I get from now on? Does a powered up Charizard offer any advantages over a strong Arcanine or should I just save my dust for powering up my 2nd Arcanine?
1520 CP, 12/10/15 IVs (82% total) with Wing Attack and Fire Blast (Moveset rating A, B)
Answers
Definitely worth powering up. I have a Charizard with the same moveset and it tears through gyms. Arcanine is of course standard, but I prefer the variety that comes with wing attack. Good IVs and the best moveset.
If you are going into a fight and you are choosing the opponenet, odds are you would win either with an Arcanine or your Charizard. Charizard is much more rare and less generic in the metagame. I would go for it.