I was never a big fan of Iron Man to begin with (although I did watch his cartoon show in the 90's, and the second season of that show remains one of Marvel's most underrated cartoons), and while I can agree that his acts during CW make him hard to root for, I do understand that he's hardly spit-shiney and has gray areas. Anyone remember "Armor Wars"? He went out on a vigilante campaign against anyone who "stole" his Iron Man specs (or whom he suspected of doing so), regardless of whether they were criminals or superheroes or Vault guards (in fact, his attack on Vault guardsmen actually led to a jailbreak, and he had to TKO Steve "Captain" Rogers to do it, too). Then there's his stance in Kree/Skrull war (pulling rank as "the only founding Avenger here" to justify icing the Supreme Intelligence), and various meddlings in THE CROSSING (which have thankfully been undone after "Heroes Return" in the late 90's). Before the Avengers learned his identity, Iron Man was seen at times as a "mercenary" as he was publically known as "Tony Stark's paid bodyguard". And let's not forget dating Wasp regardless of Hank Pym's feelings, and with his Iron Man secret with him (at the time, she didn't know he was her teammate, Iron Man).
So, Iron Man's had plenty of past moments of "grayness". His stance in CW is just the most extreme one that a modern reader has seen in about 8 years or so. He is a superhero but he is also one who sees himself more of a "loner" at times and is willing to do some manipulative things to get his way. This has happened many times in the past and it still true now.
If Marvel wanted an easy way out after CW, and we know how Marvel loves that option, they could always just blame it on his "new powers clouding his judgement". Or, conversely, Stark could draw blame to that to draw attention away from his ill course of action. In a universe where Wolverine can go, "oh, yeah, I was mind-controlled, so no hard feelin's for trying to kill the President or murdering Hornet or whatever, bub", then Stark blaming his power-boosts for his ill behavior to get away clean could be a winnable strategy.
And, well, comic fans can have short memories once a good creative team comes along.