"The First Men" is a 1960 science fiction short story by American writer Howard Fast. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in February 1960. It was later printed bundled with "The Martian Shop" (1959) in The Edge of Tomorrow. A full version of the story was also included in The Penguin Science Fiction Omnibus (1973) edited by Brian Aldiss. It is now freely available online.