I'm really torn on getting this. I've had the first diecast Mark III since it was released, and the 2.0 has everything I want in a Mark III figure- BD armor pieces, BD unhelmeted head, crushed helmet (with the exclusive), and the forearm shield fans. Plus it has ab crunch and what looks like the satin-y finish that was on the diecast Mark VII, both of which are improvements over the first diecast release. The only thing it's missing that I'd want is ungloved left hands for the final fight scene.
However, for all its faults, I really like the proportions of the first diecast release more. It is definitely too short, but the head looks more proportional to the rest of the body (and putting it in a dynamic flight pose hides the height). Straight on, the 2.0 looks fine. But at an angle, it looks like it has similar proportions to the diecast Marks VII and 85 (both of which I dislike)- they're too tall and bulky in the torso (too barrel-chested or shoulders are too broad). With the 2.0, the head (helmeted and unhelmeted) looks undersized compared to the torso/rest of the figure, and I can't unsee that. Maybe it'll look better in person and can be hidden with some angles/posing, but neither the Mark VII or 85 looked better to me in person, so I'm not very hopeful.
I still have some time but may end up preordering this just to lock in the exclusive helmet, then decide to keep/cancel it later. I know it will discount heavily like all current IM armors do, but the Mark III is my favorite IM armor and the crushed helmet is a must if I get this. It's also crazy that this will cost me almost as much as the deluxe 1/4 scale version of this did (and both coincidentally have an Iron Monger base I don't really need).
For someone who's never had an IM figure and only 1 to get for a display, do you think this can be considered a good choice?
As the first main IM armor in the MCU, it's not a bad choice for your only IM figure. But I think the general advice is get the figure for the look you like the most. All current IM figures are engineered really well, so it mainly comes down to aesthetics (and maybe also source material if there's a movie that means more to you).