So, because that's how it is in the novels that is how it should be in the game?
Well... yes. If you want to play pulp you need to emulate pulp stories/film in game.
IMHO it cannot be done by realistic worldbuilding, as it goes against pulp genre.
So generally unlike in OSR when it's you against the world, here it's you within genre, and mechanics should support it.
And to support genres that are unrealistic even within own reality you need metagaming resources for pulpey stuff.
Otherwise it's not a pulp game anymore.
Are you trying to live in the game world or to write a Pulp?
If I'd be offered to play pulp game, I'd expect nor want neither.
"Writing" would mean excessive railroading. Living in game world - well different genre of fiction.
James Bond, Indiana Jones and other guys like that does not live in a WORLD. They live in a GENRE. You may pretend it's otherwise, but it goes only that far.
Why should they care about the characters if they can't die?
Because they are awesome. You do not play PULP to struggle desperatedly survival but to deliver one-liners while fightinh 7 feet tall Egyptian Cyborg Samurai on a top of atompunk zeppelin.
Who said I wanted infrecuent hero death? Who said level 1 characters are Heroes? They aren't, not yet, they might become heroes if they have what it takes to do so.
Which among other things involves INTELLIGENT risk taking, heroic actions and playing to your strenghts (I mean as a character).
As for deviating from a "pure" OSR system... Well yes, but to what extent? I want it still to be clearly recognizable as something close to it's roots.
Genre you're trying to emulate. Pulp stories are not Campbellian 0 to hero stories. If you want to emulate them in game somehow then yes it's antipulp to go this route.
They should be at least quite competent professionalist on way to become ultra-pros.
But then of course making OSR Pulp is like making Highly Simulationist Apocalpyse World. Press X to doubt.
So because that's how it has been done it's how it should be done?
There is no "should". There's merely general consensus and feel of what PULP is.
You can play OSR in PULP disguise. It can even be cool. But selling it as Pulp RPG will be a litlle bit misguiding towards potential fanbase.
Something else the Pulps have is the black & white morality, no shades of gray, that I think is way more important than the time period or the gadgets.
Does it? Dunno really. Of course like among many other genres there is lot of B&W pulp overall, but let's take Conan - he has different setting, but still is very much pulp hero.
I'd not call his setting to be really black & white. More black vs barbarian if anything.